Transmitter...Bird of a lifetime

Back a few months ago we received a phone call from a gentlemen representing the Saginaw, Mi. chapter of D.U. He was inquiring about the possibility of donating a hunt to their annual banquet. Being a life long supporter of this great organization we said that we would be glad to help. So we donated a 3-day hunt for 2 people to come and experience eider hunting here on the coast of Maine. The hunt was sold, booked and as they say, 'The Rest is History'!

As the days grew closer to the hunt date, many phone calls were made by the banquet winners in anticipation of their hunt. Arrival day finally came and after long flights the guys got settled into the lodge. A big evening meal of fresh caught Maine lobster and much talk about the next days hunt rounded out the day.

The next morning came with great excitement. Once at the launch and underway we were greeted with a stiff N.W. wind. As we sped through the darkness to the hunting grounds everyone was intently listening to the Noaa marine forecast on the VHF radio... N-NW 25 to 30 knots with gusts up to 35 knots and seas running 3-5 ft. As I looked at the guys in the shadows of the running lights I said, "just another day at the office" and told them that we had to go to plan B, for our first choice would be a rather nasty spot. Our new location would offer us some shelter from the howling winds. The layout boats, hunters and long lines of eiders, scoters and old squaws were deployed in the early morning darkness awaiting the first rays of daylight. As the sun rose over the horizon onto the cold gray wind swept Atlantic, a lone silhouette against the pale dim morning sky signaled the beginning of the morning flight. To the amazement of the gunners in the layout boats, the lone silhouette that was headed into the eider rig was a Canada goose, cupped and committed this was the beginning of many firsts for the boys on this day.

As the sun got higher in the morning sky the sea duck action began to heat up. By 7:00 a.m. the boys had taken their first eiders ever. As the morning progressed it was business as usual, birds working the rig, alot of shooting, along with a few misses and a few hits. Then a call on the VHF from the layouts to the tender boat that said, "we have a crippled bird that needs to be dispatched". Upon approaching the rig the boys said the last time they saw the bird it was about 100 yards outside the rig. Circling, I finally saw the bird "billing" down the bay, it was a trophy hen eider. With one shot from the tender boat, the bird was in the bag. Once on board with a closer examination, the trophy bird was sporting a leg band and a transmitter! With a quick call to the layouts to relay the news, the excitement of the hunters could be heard for a mile. While returning to the layouts the boys called and said "we only need two more for full limits, so hold off we have a bunch coming now." When the SBE's sounded two trophy drake eiders were folded along with a bonus bluebill bringing the end to another great morning of gunning along the downeast coast of Maine.

The sea duck joint venture in cooperation with the Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife conducted a study on 10 transmitted birds several years back. Here is a link to a fascinating read about this bird. www.seaduckjv.org/studies/pro3/pr91.pdf




Kevin Machata of Saginaw, Mi.
with his first banded and transmitted
trophy Maine hen eider.














Ben Jurmanovich of Saginaw, Mi.
with a trophy Maine drake eider

Bands, Bands and more Bands

2009 has proved to be another great season for banded birds. Our hunters from across the country have compiled 20 banded birds so far ! One hunter that stands out in this department is Mr. Todd Stauffer from Cleona, Pa. This was Todd's first sea duck hunt and he had informed me that he wanted trophy birds. The next morning came early 3;30 a.m. with a couple cups of coffee and a quick bite we were off. With a short ride to the boat ramp, the 20 ft. Lund was launched and the Mighty Boys Super Mag layout was loaded. As we headed out of the harbor in the pre-dawn darkness, the ocean was calm and quite, signaling a great day on the big water. This gave us time to chat about the way things should go for the morning hunt. Once at the hunting grounds layouts were deployed and strings of eider impostors were set. With Todd now in place in the layout it was "hurry up " and wait for legal shoot. At exactly legal shoot, a small group of eiders with 4 hens and 1 fully plumed drake were headed into the impostors cupped and committed unaware of a layout boat. With Todd rising and shouldering the Remington SP10 he had picked the drake out of the flock and crumpled him with one shot. A quick call on the radio, and I was headed in to pick up Todd's first ever eider. As I picked the bird out of the water, I noticed something shiny...it was a band !! Without a word I motored up to the layout so this gentlemen could look at his first eider. "Wow a band" exclaimed Todd..."my first eider and it's banded"!! As we were admiring this trophy, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, it was a fully plumed hen with the landing gear down. With an instinctual "take that bird" the Remington sounded again, with one shot the trophy hen lay lifeless on the water. Motoring around to retrieve the bird, I said "you are not going to believe this" another band. Before I could motor back to the layout, I noticed small ripples on the calm water and it was coming from layout...it was Todd, he was so excited he was shaking all over. Mr. Stauffer promptly said "that's it for today...it doesn't get any better then this" So the boat ride back to the harbor was filled with high fives and congrats. A couple of weeks later Todd had received the results from the band info. The drake was 8 years of age and banded in Nova Scotia, the hen was banded in Newfoundland with an age of 17.5 years old !! This is what makes guiding all worth while. Being involved with people doing something for the first time and leaving a life long memory.