Duck Blind Build: Part 1

Started building some new duck blinds.  Blinds are 16 feet long X 4 feet wide.  Slatted to drain water.  Sturdy.  Stable.  Dry.  Roomy.  Comfortable.  How a duck blind should be!!!  No laying OR sitting in the mud!  http://www.avianskies.com/

 

This is going to be a 4 part series showing how to construct a duck blind from start to finish.  This is the first part of the series.  The series will be published over the course of the summer and show the complete construction, building, placement, and concealment of a duck blind. 

 

Enjoy!

 

http://s1086.photobucket.com/albums/j442/avianskies/Duck%20Blind%201/

Duck Blinds

Well, the Texana Outdoor Expo went off without much of a hitch.  No problems, which is always a great thing!  Worked Raider out for the school kids on the Friday event and he was quiet a success.  Many of the kids enjoyed watching him work, even some of the adults.

Still have lots of work to do with Raider, but I think he is finally starting to come around.  The force fetch process he went through this past spring really gave him a lot of confidence.  That is really encouraging.  Now I am starting to get a little more advanced with whistle stops and hand signals.  He might make a fine dog yet!  I have no doubts about that.

We are now about three months out from Teal season.  I have finalized my duck/teal blind ideas and now simply have to build them and set them up.  I am going to start this next week.  They will be a basic, yet nice design.  They will all have solid, stable floors.  Be above the water line so you will not be in the water.  And be well camouflaged.  I am starting to get excitted.  I also have to re rig all of my duck decoys.  I have them Texas Rigged, but am not happy with the line I used.  The improvements I make on them will be much better.

I have a lot of items that need to be tended to equipment wise over the next several months.  Waterfowl hunting is very equipment intensive, so it is just a necessary evil with maintenance.  However, I will keep everyone updated on those changes and improvements.  Keep an eye out, I might even start posting a few pictures soon!

Guns Up!

Will.

Texana Outdoor Expo.

Last month I briefly hit on an event that was going to happen in the month of May.  I promised that I would follow up on this event, so here goes.  It is the Texana Outdoor Expo.  The event is a two day even on Friday May 20 and Saturday May 21. 

The Texana Outdoor Expo is an event created and produced by LNRA and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department – Victoria Region.  The event is sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife, Country Legends 96.1 KIOX, HEB, and the Weatherby Foundation International – Hunting Preservation and Wildlife Conservation. 

The Friday date is going to be for select local school children only.  Talk about a great opportunity for them to learn about subjects not normally taught in standard curriculum.  This year students from Edna 7^th grade, Ganado 5^th grade, and Industrial 8^th grade will be attending.  These students get the wonderful opportunity for hands on educational activities all about wildlife, outdoor activities, and environmental awareness.    

The Saturday event is open to the Public from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.  Admissions at the gate are $5.00 for adults and children 12 and under get in free.  

There is also going to be a Kids Fishing Derby on Saturday morning prior to the Expo event start.  This event will be from 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM at the Main Event Center Fishing Pond.  It is free for kids 3-15 years old.  The event is a catch and release format with participants being divided into age groups.  All participants will receive prizes; however, awards will be given to the group winners at the conclusion of the Fishing Derby.  Please note that registration for this event will be the morning of the event at the Main Event Center Pond.  There is also a limited amount of fishing gear available, so it is highly encouraged for participants to bring their own gear.  LNRA will supply the bait.  For additional information please contact Liz at 361-782-7272 or visit www.brackenridgepark.com.

I am also going to have a booth set up at the Expo.  I will be giving a demonstration involving retrievers on Friday for the school children.  I will also be giving a seminar on Saturday at 330 PM– 415 PM entitled “Shotgun Safety While Bird Hunting.”  In addition to this I will also be offering 10% off all Dove hunts booked at the Expo and “5/1 Special” for my Teal hunts.  This is a special that I am offering for the month of May.  If you book a 5 man Teal hunt a 6^th man gets to hunt for free!  Talk about a great way to save big!!!  Also, if you are not interested in booking a hunt, but are interested in ways to improve the value of your land outside of traditional farming or ranching practices please don’t hesitate to stop and visit.

 

The list of confirmed Exhibits/Seminars at the Expo is as follows:   Avian Skies, Texas Parks and Wildlife: Game Wardens "Who Dunnit?", "Wall of Shame" Operation Game Thief - Skins & Skulls Exhibit, Wildlife Brigade Exhibit, Laser Shoot, Coastal Fisheries Ice Touch Table, Perry R Bass Marine Fisheries Touch Tank, State Park Camping 101 Demonstration, Texas Youth Hunter Program, Texas State Aquarium - Oceans in a Box Discovery Tables, The Texas Zoo, Texas Snakes & More, Bass Tubs of Oklahoma - Viewing tank and casting demonstrations, The Ultimate Shootout Archery Trailer - 3D Target/Compound Bow Archery, Experience with Expert, Janik Alligators - Demonstration and live baby alligators, Coastal Sporting Clays - Skeet Shooting, Kayaking Demonstration, Whet Stone Fly Fishing Club - Fly Tying/Fly Casting Demonstrations and Fly Casting Shoot Out, Geocaching Exhibit/Demonstration, ATV Safety Institute, Disc Golf Demonstration, Straight Arrow Archery Center - Archery Demonstration Booth, Crawdad Club Designs - Everything you ever wanted to know about crawdads, Rock Climbing Walls, LNRA: Paintball Exhibit, Crossbow Target Shooting - smaller kids, Bald Eagle Exhibit, and Quail Hatchery Exhibit. 

A list of confirmed educational seminars at the Expo is as follows:  Cooking Demonstration by the Cooking Depot & Chef Molly; Perspectives on Culling. Fact, Fiction or Just for Fun by Todd Pilcik, TPWD Biologist; Waterfowl Identification and the Prairie Wetlands Program by David Lobpries, TPWD Specialist; Identifying Wild Edibles in the Area by Dr. Mark Vorderbruggen, Houston Wild Edibles; Shotgun Safety While Bird Hunting by Will Granberry, Avian Skies; Wildlife Digital Photography by Bill Harvey, photographer; and Texas Feral Swine History, Status and Research by Greg Pleasant, TPWD Natural Resource Specialist.

As you can tell there has been a lot of effort put into this Expo and I am very happy that the citizens of Jackson County get to have the opportunity to experience such an event in our own back yard.  The educational and recreational enjoyment that is going to be experienced is a huge benefit.  With such a strong participation in outdoor activities by the citizens of Jackson County this should be a huge event and I hope to see you their! 

Guns Up! 

Will Granberry

361-235-0100

info@avianskies.com

http://www.avianskies.com 

Avian Skies May Happenings...

1)  The Texana Outdoor Expo is going to be Friday May 20 and Saturday May 21 at the Brackenridge Recreation Complex on Lake Texana.  Their is going to be a huge range of events from Kids Fishing to Skeet Shooting to ATV Safety to Rock Climbing, just to mention a very few of the activities.  This is a big deal and a large turn out is expected.  A perfect way get the kids into a fun event at minimal costs.  I will be doing a seminar involving gun safety as well as have a booth selling hunts.  I am offering 10% off all Dove and Waterfowl hunts at the show as well as my 5/1 Special for Teal.  If you can make it I hope you swing by and say "Hi" and get in on a great hunt package deal.

2)  I have had a lot of interest in my Teal Hunts and I am running a May special on them.  It it called the "5/1 Special" and if you book a 5 man Teal hunt a 6 person gets to hunt for free!  The offer is good for all of May.  If interested in getting in on a good deal please PM me and I can get you hooked up.

3)  I would like to thank Triple Shot Game Calls for doing an outstanding job on some high end custom calls.  Robert does excellent work and if you are in need of something special I recommend getting a hold of him.

4)  I would like to thank Dakota Decoys for putting perhaps the best looking full body speck decoy on the market.  I know that these dekes are going to put a pile of specks on the ground for my clients.  I hope you are their with me when we are!

5)  Been in contact with Blue Collar Decoys.  Man boys hang on, cause something mighty fine is coming down the pipe!  Pintail Full Bodies!  Their will be 6 different poses and talk about sweet!  More to come in the future on this.

Guns Up!

Will.

http://www.avianskies.com/

Updates...

Here are a few short updates:

1)  Will be putting in a sunflower food plot in the next week or two.

2)  Donated a hunt to http://www.txwaterfowler.com to help generate money for the new site updates.

3)  Eric Myers will be performing Sept 31 and Oct 1 for my guests.

4)  The Texana Outdoor Expo will be May 20 and 21.

5)  Getting a display together...Thanks Circle L Media!  http://www.circlelmedia.com


That is the short and sweet of it.  Much more to come!

The Dog Days of ... Spring!

 

Well, it is that time of year again.  The wildflowers are in bloom, the dewberries are on their way, crops are getting put in the ground, and fishing is starting to take off.  For most of us this past hunting season is now a long distant memory.  We are now left with turkey season and of course the ever present hog and varmint seasons.  That big buck you couldn’t get the gun up on in time, that beautiful pintail that you pulled the trigger on and missed,  and of course all the work that you had to do around camp to “summerize” it are what seems to be the most recent memories we have of this past hunting season.

For many bird hunters there is also one additional aspect of the past season that often needs work.  It is dog work. This aspect is not one that cannot be worked on very easily during the middle of the season.  It is often times also not a simple fix.  As a matter of fact it often times doesn’t show itself until the middle of the season.  Dogs that leave to make a retrieve without being told to do so (break), whine (vocalize), don’t obey obedience commands, or fail to retrieve are all problem students and need additional work.  The problem with our geographic location for retriever training is the hot summer.  After May it makes for working a dog difficult at best.  So, now is the time of year to work with our dogs and correct the problems.  Then as summer gets here and all we have to do is reinforce what we taught pup and get him ready for next season with lots of fun in the water.

Another aspect that many hunters would be wise in addressing involves their blinds.  This is also a perfect time of the year to relocate or repair any issues they had with blinds this past season.  Animals are very aware of their surroundings.  They can sense when all of a sudden there is an increase in human activity.  The sounds and scents associated with humans create warning signs for them.  These signs signal danger and like you, when you sense danger, you do what you can to get out of harms way.  Thus, there are numerous advantages to doing blind work this at this time of year.  It allows the animals to become accustomed to the blind being in a new location, it allows vegetation to grow up around the blind thus improving concealment, the temperatures are still very comfortable for the manual labor involved with such projects, and all those warning signs dissipate after you leave for the summer and the animals move back into the area.

One final point that I would like to mention involves the Texana Outdoor Expo.  This is an event for the whole family and will have numerous events for all age groups.  It will be held at the Brackenridge Recreation Complex on May the 20-21.  It will be a two day event that will involve a wide range of activities ranging from kids fishing to sporting clays.  I will have plenty of information regarding this event in my May article.

Guns Up!

Will Granberry

361-235-0100

info@avianskies.com

http://www.avianskies.com

 

Daddy, What Kind Of Geese Are Those?

While I was wrestling with a brown pelican my daughter hooked while piggy perch fishing she asked a question that struck a nerve with me.  She asked "Daddy, What Kind of Geese Are Those?"  Say what???  I said "Honey, you know those aren't geese.  You know those are pelicans."  "But they are brown like the geese you hunt." she replied.  I said, "Well, yes they are, but they are called brown pelicans."  Her response, "Do geese like to eat fish like the pelicans?"  It was then that I had to call a time out.  It was one of those perfect times in life that Dads live for.  We get to pass down our knowledge to our children.  I asked her to explain the color of the pelican, which she did.  I then told her that was how it got it's name, because it is a pelican and it is brown...hence the name brown pelican.  I also very briefly explained that the long snout is what makes it a pelican, and a goose doesn't have a snout like that.  I also explained what pelicans eat and what geese eat.  Keep in mind I had to keep it in 3 year old girl terms and the conversation was short.  However, because it was a short conversation means very little.  The knowledge that she took away from that conversation has stuck with her.  She learned a little bit more about the outdoors, she learned that not all birds are geese, and she learned pelicans like to eat fish.  Taking time out of our busy schedules and hectic lives can have huge impacts in the lives of our children.  Taking the time to make sure they enjoy it and have a positive outcome with the experience is our responsibility as adults.  Don't drag kids on an outdoor trip meant for adults, but rather make the trip a kids trip.  Then when they are old enough, and big enough, you will see the results of the time you spent with them while they were younger.

And for the record I was the hero that day...I unhooked the pelican AND saved the piggy perch from being eaten!

Take the time to spend it with your kids doing outdoor activities.  They are our most precious resource.

http://www.avianskies.com