White front geese greeted me on the way to Mayberry. I recall seeing them at this same small pond during March of previous years – one of their last hangouts before they head north. (Click to enlarge photo.) Another common site on the way to Mayberry in late winter is goats grazing on the [...]
Archive for the ‘seasonal marsh’ Category
Mayberry, March 2011
Posted in bird watching, birds, California Delta, permanent marsh, photography, seasonal marsh, seasonal marsh, waterfowl, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management, tagged bird watching, Waterfowl photos on March 15, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Grasslands Hunt 12-09-09
Posted in Duck hunting, seasonal marsh, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management, tagged Waterfowl hunting in the Grasslands on December 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The grasslands is a hugh chunk of natural marsh that is loaded with ducks. Of course, not all marsh is equal, and my friend Jeff has some of best. He manages most of his 300-acre club for open water and keeps it shallow flooded. Most of his club can be waded in hip waders. Who knows all [...]
Aerial Spraying Results – 15 days after spraying
Posted in California Delta, Farm Management, seasonal marsh, wildfire habitat recovery, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management, tagged duck and pheasant habitat, habitat management on July 2, 2009 | 3 Comments »
On Tuesday, June 16 2009 a helicopter spraying company hit our thick stands of cattails, tules, Bermuda and blackberries with a 3 quart to the acre mix of roundup. Took a trip to Mayberry yesterday to view the results of the aerial spraying efforts. I found the cattails to be hard hit. Bermuda grass showed signs [...]
A Few Shots of Mayberry Last Weekend 2009
Posted in California Delta, Duck hunting, Gear, seasonal marsh, tagged Duck hunting on March 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Rob and Wes tried to downplay the significance of killing ducks by holding a jam session. If you’re serious about duck hunting, you may be interested in some of the items that I believe are valuable in the marsh. 1.) Note that my Bennelli pump is camoflauged. I like a pump because I can stick [...]
More Youth Hunt Photos
Posted in California Delta, Duck hunting, photography, seasonal marsh, waterfowl, wildlife management, youth in the outdoors, tagged Youth Waterfowl Hunt on February 1, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Here are some shots of the recent youth hunt. These were taken by Ron Spradlin. Darron Solero, CWA Regional Director, set up the hunt and cooked the prehunt wild game feed of mallard and honker breasts. His son, Hunter, came along for the trip. Ron and Robbie around the camp fire. Robbie at the ready. Rich [...]
A First-Duck-Hunt Jackpot
Posted in California Delta, Duck hunting, seasonal marsh, wildlife management, youth in the outdoors, tagged youth in the outdoors, Youth Waterfowl Hunt on February 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Youth hunts are supposed to be a good opportunity, but this was ridiculous. Fourteen year old Robbie was on his first duck hunt and he must have been impressed as we headed for the pond. Thousands of ducks and geese were rising from the marsh as we approached. Snow geese were exploding from the water [...]
The Goats of Mayberry
Posted in Duck hunting, Farm Management, outdoors, seasonal marsh, seasonal marsh, wildlife conservation, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management, tagged flood up for duck hunting, habitat management through goat grazing on October 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The goats are in and they’re doing their job. As many at 1,700 goats have been grazing on our duck club and they are removing much of the vegitation choking our duck ponds. This is Walter the Peruvian goat herder. Talks about as much English as I do Spanish. Walter says the [...]
Mayberry Farms Superbowl Sunday Photo Shoot
Posted in California Delta, outdoors, photography, seasonal marsh, seasonal marsh, waterfowl, wildlife, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management on February 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
(Double click on photos to see full size version.) Superbowl Sunday was a great photography day at Mayberry Farms. The sun was good and the birds were cooperative. These pelicans took off from the pasture next door. The egret passed by close enough to capture him in flight. Lola was pumped up and chased everything [...]
Turning Farm Ground into Wildlife Habitat
Posted in California Delta, Duck hunting, Ecology, Farm Management, goose, Hunting, Land Ownership, outdoors, permanent marsh, pheasant, real estate, seasonal marsh, Uncategorized, wildlife, wildlife conservation, Wildlife habitat, wildlife management on January 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
After a morning of enthusiastic and exhausting pheasant hunting, with a bird each in the bag, Rob and I trudged through a final field of marsh on our way back to camp. I glanced over to my brother, and he pointed skyward – above our main duck hunting pond. A large flock of mallards [...]
