Wood ducks in coastal NC

[James Clarke]

This past weekend in NC Oct 25-26 was pre-season opener for ducks, I've never had an opportunity to hunt ducks and I don't know hardly anything about them but I've always had a drake wood duck on my bucket list.

I think they might be the best looking North American duck species and I've always admired the vibrant patterns and colors they have.

So my two hunting buddies and I headed out to some public land in the area around camp lejuene and after not many birds decoying in our original spot we decided to scout some land none of us had been to.
I was point man as we hiked through the pine tree savannah to reach some ponds and just as I made it over a hill to shooting distance of the pond I jumped 8 wood ducks and managed to pick a drake out from the group.
My friends are both avid duck hunters who have never shot one and always wanted to so they were very excited but also a little jealous that it was my first haha.

hope everyone else is having a good season and managing to find some birds.