Good morning everyone, headed out to do some scouting for this weekend hunting. The forecast is snow today. I want to see if they will visit the watermelon patch to feed. It’s on the flyway by several dairy farms which I can also hunt. The Amish gave permission in exchange for a driver to town to get supplies . The forecast is rain Saturday and Sunday. I’ve hunted them in the rain with 30 mph winds here , they fly and come in but only 1-2 pull from the murder to check out the situatio . They don’t fly in heavy snow fall I’ve found. I’ve got my frog toggs and muck boots. Talk to ya later.
I had a situation similiar to yours a few years ago. I could see relatively low flying crows in small groups headed south and only one or two would break away from about half mile away and this to me was very odd but you really don't want them to come in all at once either. This is not how you rack up the numbers. So this just might be to your advantage. I've also had them all come in at once and I was done for the day...one crow, this hundred bird flock split off and you understand...
Update on this morning recon, only resident Crows were out. Caaws here and there. I’ll go to Saturday location in the morning. 8 inches of snow fall yesterday. Resident Crows flying around near each new location. Crows on the flyway 1-7 each group came in every 2-5 minute. Here are a few photos. Blind yellow, crow activity’s blue, resident crow red, wind direction green.Any advice will help .
-- Edited by Crowpocalypse on Thursday 21st of February 2019 03:38:20 PM
-- Edited by Crowpocalypse on Thursday 21st of February 2019 03:42:12 PM
Feb 22. Set up blind on the edge of briers patch with a ten foot saplings to my back, 30 foot from a old growth White oak. Scouted it all yesterday morning. I knew where they wanted to post sentries 400 North of my blind, it’s 30 degrees, overcast, 7 mph wind from the East. Set my decoys up 75 feet to the North of blind. All in a feeding set up. I put 10 Sunny side up 30 foot to the West of me. What a glorious sight to watch them attempting to land. The first three waves of birds came in off the roost , 1-3 broke off to check out the decoys, something wasn’t right they spooked just as they began to commit to land. The wind is making my tree decoys dance around spinning. I decided I better make an adjustment regardless of what they are doing. I’ve been Bustead before, but I’m not calling this morning, I haven’t shot. So out the blind I go, I reposition decoys on my right and left but I move them back to the big oak 20 more feet ,Boondockers are to light to throw them up high. I need a new method to get them up high to the tree tops. I’ve picked up a few tricks here on advanced method. I just need to apply them. The birds came off their sentry post 1-2 at a time now I’m lightly calling once or twice. They stay 400 yards to the West of the blind before they break and make a bee line to the blind. Now each bird approaches me and is 10 foot off the ground and using the wind as a break to land. My adjustment worked! This is repeated for over an hour. 9:30 am they have fed up and are returning to the sentries posting area. I can’t see them as they aren’t calling from the South. Now when they fly in they use the same flyway and break to the blind but are out of gun range. They circle my area, but I’ve learned to use a canopy. HAHAHA, they can’t see me and I’m ready for them to land with the Sunny Side up Crows. Here’s a few pictures of this mornings hunt. Thanks
-- Edited by Crowpocalypse on Friday 22nd of February 2019 06:14:16 PM
February 22 set up Saturday mornings blind this evening. Here are the Google Earth photos and blind photos. Took about an hour to set it up. The land flows to a bottom where the ideal location is From satellite photos. It wasn’t a good spot so I had to adjust. Each location that looked good was not good so I had to compromis. On a positive note the farmer asked me if his son could join me. I could not turn down an opertunity to teach a young person the joy of hunting on his own land, as I am the guest. Young John will use his 22 rim fire to harvest the hoppers. That saves me from spending rounds or leaving the blind. Red is wind direction, Yellow is blind, blue flyway. That was yesterday’s recon. Actually it’s a little different, I’ll update it in the morning i between Crow investigations.
Maybe it wasn't a mistake, even if there were no crows something was learned. Also, crows are easy to miss in the early afternoon and I'm guessing that's when you were there.
I’m out in the blind by 6 am, I typically start my day at 3am, and I’m counting crow by 8pm. February 23rds hunt. I arrived to the farmers at 5:30 am as scheduled. When to the dairy parlor and got young John. Got all my equipment and off we went. It’s a 20 minut walk. Put out decoys got in the blind and waited. 6:55 a single Crow caaws to the East. I check weather forecasts, it’s 26 winds up to 3mph out of sw. 7:10 a crow caaws to the West. 7:20 , I can clearly see crows in a steady stream 1/4 mile away. Every now and again a single flies high overhead on the wood line and circles the opposite direction. So I’m thinking I’m set up wrong... regardless of the now few calls I use none are breaking from the masses on the flyway. I know a big storm is coming tomorrow. So I Google Earth and the are headed to their food source. 8:30am I pack up and here comes 12 flying like they should. I drop 1, well John finished him. So then I teach John about the shotgun, set up a target and let him fire it several times. He a deer hunter, perfect opportunity to scout , easy this time of the year. I find rackes, old scrapes, bedding areas. Then we site in his 22. I met up with his father to thank him.He was shocked the 10 year old wasn’t afraid to shoot a 12guage . Then asks what I’m doing with his rat gun for the barn? lol I readjust it for 10 yard, then off to the barn to check his driving horse. I finished around 4pm there. All in all a very good day. Wind is green , blue dot is blind, the birds did not fly the same as the day i scouted .
