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Bird Hunting With Los Gauchos
Duck, Goose, Dove, Geese and Perdiz. |
Gunning With Los Gauchos
A chill buffeting wind blows across the open land as a wavering line
of birds rows steadily upstream against the flow. From their high
vantage point, the world is simple; grass, sky, horizon and wind. In
this vast country the line of birds somehow adds the spark of life
to a great empty vista. Friendly black and white forms appear spread
out on the grass ahead, and the birds turn toward them. On the
ground, the wind is almost a gale and the volume of air makes the
fence wires sing and even the short green grass ripples like water.
It's predawn in winter and in the northeast, the sun now gives a
faint suggestion to foretell its appearance. Shooters lying flat on
the turf between decoys are covered with grass-colored netting;
their heads inclined slightly, their watering eyes locked on the
approaching flock. For them, the world has been pared-down too.
Geese!
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Photo
by Lee Thomas Kjos |
"Burrr-oww, burr-oww, burr-oww", guides
mouth-call as the undulating line makes for the impostors.
Surreptitiously, the gunners finger safeties and shift slightly in
nervous anticipation. Soon the birds approaching downwind are close
enough to hear their buzzing chatter; the call is strange and
unfamiliar. It what seems like an eternity, the birds set their
wings and drop their feet-committed. It's still dark enough for
muzzle-fire as guns open up and birds along the line begin to drop
heavily to the ground. From the sky, the remnants of the flock
squeal in alarm, as their pinions rattle noisily in pull-out. A few
wounded geese fall far out over the field, while up-close, walking
cripples are dispatched and the jubilant hunters holler
congratulations.
Although this narrative could easily describe a field shoot for
geese from Saskatchewan to Siberia, the fact that it took place
during the month of July indicates geography in the southern
hemisphere, specifically South America. This is the classical
Argentine hunt for upland geese; the ashy-headed and Magellan. And
as an added bonus, our outfitter Los Gauchos, provide shooting for
ducks and perdiz in the afternoon as well.
We were gunning southeast of Buenos Aires in the province of the
same name. It's here on the vast Atlantic coastal pampas that wheat
fields and pastures rival those of the North American west in size
and scope. Everywhere the enormous country is flat or gently
rolling, punctuated only now and then by shelter belts of eucalyptus
and pine. And like the Russian steppe or Dakota prairie, the wind
periodically reminds all who really owns the land. Cattle are the
mainstay of the pampas economy, and omnipresent with cattle,
Gauchos. On large estancias the cattlemen encourage the hunting of
geese which they believe compete with their animals for forage. In
current beef market, the birds probably represent much more income
per hectare in dollars from traveling hunters than the same land if
used only for cattle.
Every year the flocks of geese gather from their southern breeding
grounds in Patagonia to make the migration northward where they find
the less-harsh climate on this part of the pampas to their liking.
Because of the proximity of the Atlantic, winters are moderate. The
hungry grazers are also fond of the expansive fields of pasture
grass and winter wheat and also depend on the many shallow ponds for
a safe nights roost, away from marauding Zorro Gris. And each year
hunters from the north migrate south for a rendezvous with the
birds. Is there a better way to beat summer heat and get a "goose
fix" before the season? And as most goose hunters are waterfowlers
in the broader sense, they can enjoy duck hunting in the afternoon
after geese in the morning. For those who also appreciate the rise
of upland birds over pointing dogs, the perdiz hunting offered is a
welcome addition.
At the first hint of light, long lines of geese stream out from the
water to huge tracts of grass where their nightly fast is broken.
Shooters lying in the decoys when the flocks arrive find the action
fast and furious. Although the birds distribute themselves out over
thousands of hectares to feed, our outfitter called appropriately
Los Gauchos, had scouted some very favorable locations. When the
droppings carpet the ground around the decoys, you know this is
"it"; the congregation. Argentine goose hunting can also be shooting
for numbers; everyone firing at once to increase the collective bag.
If that's not your forte, a group can collectively decide to take
individual turns so that there is absolutely no doubt "who shot
what". That's not to say there won't be plenty of back-ups shots
when the point man finishes, there's always time for seconds, thirds
and even fourths. Because the birds in Argentina work in close,
often right over head. It's not at unusual to have a small group
land in the decoys while the guns are waiting for a larger mob
behind to come in. In the openness of the setting, the flocks can be
seen coming a long ways off. What with that and the abundance of
birds, excitement on the morning shoot runs very high. After all
this frenetic activity, it's a bit of relief when the action does
trickles down and finally stops after a couple of hours. We stand
up, stretch, and take that much appreciated steaming cup of coffee.
On the ride back to the lodge, even the most ardent gunner can nod
off
While this South American hunting is almost identical to goose
hunting up north, the birds taken are not actually true geese. They
come from a different tribe, the sheldgeese. They share a
characteristic look with other shelducks and geese around the world.
Probably half the bag consists of the four to five pound ashy-headed
goose. To describe this goose, the sexes are dressed exactly alike;
reddish brown breast, white belly and a clean gray head. The other
species taken, the larger Magellan or upland goose, exhibits sexual
dimorphism- males and females are totally un-alike and were even
thought to be different species at one time. The striking male
Magellan goose is brilliant white all over, with black bill, feet
and barring on the breast. The female is more like a larger version
of the ashy-head, except the head is the same rusty brown as the
breast. All of the Argentine sheldgeese have white shoulder patches
adjoining iridescent green. When a large flock comes in to land, the
flashing white makes quite a show in the morning sun.
For several years Los Gauchos has worked very hard to develop goose,
duck and perdiz hunting in this scenic land. In fact they've been so
successful, the company has just opened a new eight-person lodge in
a location central to the hunting fields. Situated off a main
north-south road, it's on the outskirts of the town Coronel
Pringles. The site is about an hours drive northeast of Bia Blanca,
where the short flight from Buenos Aires reaches the coast. From the
lodge, the days goose hunt is usually an hour or so away on paved
roads. After a hard day afield, tired sports can gather to tell
stories around the welcoming fireplace in the comfortable
open-raftered dining room. There is also a variety of savory hoer
devours prepared from, what else, wild goose. It's a very relaxing
way to remove the chill. Then at around 8:30, a five-course meal is
served. Despite the best intentions, diets are forgotten. A welcome
noon day spread also follows the early morning foray for geese; the
central location allows shooters to return to the lodge by 12 for a
sit-down meal served hot. Hunters can clean-up before eating in
adjoining rooms, there's plenty of hot water. The beds are very good
and after lunch, an hour-long nap is almost a Los Gauchos tradition.
And if the morning hunt for geese has not worn you out, the hours
until sunset will be spent walking behind a pointing dog in pursuit
of perdiz (spotted tinamou) or over decoys and water shooting ducks.
It should also be noted; the setters, pointers and retrievers at Los
Gauchos are far above average.
We had one especially memorable afternoon on the endless wheat
stubble surrounding a white hacienda on a large estancia. Two guns,
a dog, and handler made up each group. The weather was perfect;
light wind, sunny -a few puffy clouds in blue. And it was mild
enough for just a sweater. When we sent off from the ranch yard, the
presence of an Aeromotor windmill, made it looked a bit like eastern
Montana. A ways on past the hacienda, a grove of eucalyptus made it
look a bit like Australia. Hidalgo the English setter was on point
almost immediately out to the yard. After that, the dog seemed find
at least one perdiz in the high stubble every 500 yards or so. It
was a pattern to be repeated all afternoon. The setter was picking
the birds up from quite a distance and sorting them out nicely.
Several of the first birds were obviously young and stayed glued to
the cover until the shooter was within feet. Then the little brown
buzz bombs would zing wildly out across the prairie. Their speed in
the soft breeze made them a more difficult target than might be
expected over open ground. Several, perhaps older birds, were
obviously wise to the game. They'd run slinking ahead of the dog in
long slashing tacks. One particularly savvy tinamou made a series of
zigzags until the dog finally pinned him along a barbed-wire fence.
Then Senor perdiz, flushed straight towards loafing cattle on the
other side- the only obstacle within miles. This bird had obviously
inherited the "rogue ruffed grouse" gene. I had counted the
relocations by Hidalgo before that fence-line flush; seven. A very
nice piece of dog work, indeed. No matter how prepared we were it
seemed the always well-hidden birds never failed to startle on
flushing. Even though the dog is pointing and you know the bird is
there... These birds are fast getting up; any hesitation by the
shooter is likely to cause a hitch-fault. Then we continued on in an
easy manner, the dog working, the birds holding; with the outcome
clear. All uncertainty gone, this was fun! In fact several times
shooting opportunities were missed playing "after you, Alphonso"
Although the birds seem abundant, in Argentina, the 10-bird bag
limit is adhered to strictly. Perhaps that's why the birds are
abundant. As we walked back to the vehicle in the last rays of a
fading day, it had been more than enough. Watching the dog work
alone had been worth the outing. The bag was one bird shy of full
complement- Senor "bad grouse" had been counted coup.
On the much regretted and unavoidable last day, a duck marsh within
30 minutes from the lodge was chosen to allow maximum time for a
half-day hunt. In the dark, headlights showed wisps of ground fog
drifted by the breeze - a duck day. In the time-before-the-sun,
decoys were placed while shooters sequestered themselves into rush
pockets on the wetland shoreline. In only minutes the first birds
flew by in the dim mist and shots rang out. The marsh then became
alive with crossing ducks. Most of the birds came out of the east,
silhouetted against the dawn. Small flocks, pairs and singles, all
seemed to work the blocks or gave sweeping passes. It was frenetic
shooting, as now brown pintail, then teal, then rosy-billed pochard
appeared over the decoys. Most of the gunners just shot ducks, but
some tried to sample the different species; there are three kinds of
teal alone and they aren't easy to sort out. The speckled teal looks
similar to and behaves just like my northern favorite, green-winged.
Drake cinnamon teal are unmistakable in good light, but when
backlit, looked just like another of the trio, the handsome
cappuccino teal. These beautiful ducks with their chocolate head cap
do look like coffee and chocolate cream. It was easy to spot the
pochards cruising by in direct, single-minded flight-they fly like
divers everywhere. And the southern shovler has the unmistakable
Pico Grande profile .Southern widgeon were also added, identified by
their nasal whistle. About the only resident birds we failed to
collect were the so-called tree or whistling ducks, they had
apparently migrated further north. At the end, the duck strap was
quite impressive, 6 different species.
We could sum up the whole Los Gauchos experience in one word;
diversity. Not only for the species seen, but for the type of
hunting offered. One afternoon we even shot some picazuro pigeons
while chasing ducks on a playa lake. It not too common in South
America to find this type of quality field shooting for geese in the
morning and upland perdiz or duck hunting in the afternoon. So if
you are a hunter who hates hot summer and wants to kick-start the
season, go south young man. |
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