You came all this way and did not send a message or stop by to say hello?
Sorry Sam! I was on a mission and slabbed it up on Friday the fastest way...101, 680, 80, 505, 5 to Willows. Slabbed back today on the reverse route. I did get a little bit of extracurricular riding over to Chico and locally near Willows on Sunday afternoon but nothing fun. I definitely want to make a run soon to your neck of the woods and I won't forget you!
I've had duck, but never goose. Is it good eatin'?
Those ducks in the photo are some of the BEST eaters you can get aside from the traditional Mallard. The 3 bigger ones are Northern Pintail and the little bitty guy on top is a Greenwing Teal. They are all fantastic eaters. The brown Goose on the low left is a small, juvenile Whitefront or "Specklebelly" goose and the white one is a juvenile Snow Goose, that's why it has the gray tinting compared to the normally stark powder white feathers the mature adult Snow will have. Snows are so-so for eating depending on how they are prepared. This guy is going in the Jerky pile.
The Specklebelly is one of the best eating waterfowl ever. Grilled to a medium rare, this filet nearly equals the quality of a choice Rib Eye without any of the fat. All ducks are very lean and where I hunt, they're all fed with rice from the tens of thousands of acres of rice fields that are in their decomp stage right now.
Anyone that's travelling through Nor Cal in the next month or 2 should REALLY get a close look at the network of Wildlife Refuges in the Sacramento Refuge Complex and the surrounding farms. You haven't experienced nature to it's fullest until you find yourself under or adjacent to a "Grind" of Snow and Specklebelly geese numbering in the thousands and tens of thousands. It's an incredible sight and sound that you will never forget. It's even better if you're a hunter!
Here's a quick and shaky video my guide friend took for his website. This is my blind east of Willows, CA and these are almost all Specklebellies which are about twice the size of the one in my pic today.
https://www.youtube.com/user/OhMySack?feature=mhum#p/a/f/2/3BP2gbVxR4o
