Diver Smackdown!

[Parker Sharpe]

The weather report for saturday said that it was supposed to be cold and clear; however, a front moved in around 11:30 am and the divers started to move!

In the morning it was still, warm, and the birds were not moving.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/3913/picture001sm6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

As the front rolled in the temperature dropped and the wind started to pick up. its looking "ducky."
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/783/picture030dh2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A group of swans move in advance of the front.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/3923/picture021dk9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A group of geese move in advance of the front. Goose season was out, but we could have easily limited as there were tons of birds around.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/7923/picture028xc0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Me with my first duck of the day- beautiful hen canvasback. My first canvasback ever!
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7491/picture048br0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Me with my first limit of ducks this season. 1 hen canvasback, 1 hen ringbill, and 3 drake ringbills.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1628/picture051wm9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

My Dad and brother retrieving the last birds of their limits.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5499/picture066gm5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

We ended up with 14 ringbills and My 1 canvasback. Everyone got their limit!
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1443/picture074mj5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[upnorthWI]

Nice work. Where abouts are you hunting?

[George Zahradka]

Looks like a great time.......and a lot of fun also.Great job.

[Wld Fowl]

Nice great job!!

[Bull Island]

Send some of those down here, Parker. Good job.

[Reed]

Those are some nice lookin ringers...Don't see many that nice up here

[duckin82]

great looking hunt! its good to see yall are starting to get some divers down there. now send em back up here!

[Parker Sharpe]

Nice work. Where abouts are you hunting?
on the Mattaponi River

[Joe Fladeland]

Nice work, Parker. Those Ringnecks are beautiful.

[Erik Nilsson]

good shoot ringers are a cool duck, congrats on the can

[Brian Rhodes-The Swampers]

Nice job!

[Jeff Riverin]

Congrats Parker, what a great diver hunt!

[Randy L.]

Nice shooting. I may be wrong, but don't drake and hen ringnecks look the same?? Perhaps the bird you are calling a "hen ringneck" is a hen lesser scaup? Not trying to bust you out or anything. Just curious myslef. Good shootout though!!!!!!;)

[Parker Sharpe]

Nice shooting. I may be wrong, but don't drake and hen ringnecks look the same?? Perhaps the bird you are calling a "hen ringneck" is a hen lesser scaup? Not trying to bust you out or anything. Just curious myslef. Good shootout though!!!!!!;)

there is one hen ringbill in the last photo on the right side of the boat. The hen and drake ring neck don't look the same. it can get confusing though as a lot of the divers do look similar. the hen rinbill doesn't have the same broad blue bill as does a bluebill, and the bluebill hen has a white patch around its beak.

This is a drake Ringbill:
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4022/ringer2oy6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

This is a hen Ringbill:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5738/ringer1oc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Bull Island]

how far up on the Mattoponi are you hunting Parker

[Parker Sharpe]

how far up on the Mattoponi are you hunting Parker

far enough:D :D ;)... ha i can't give away all my secrets to the locals but we are up above sandy point a good ways but before the river starts to get real narrow... :cool:

[Bull Island]

I was going to come up that way and do some scouting one Sunday. Either that river or the Pamunkey.

[Randy L.]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was mistaken, my bad. As you can assume, I don't shoot many divers....:)

[Parker Sharpe]

thats alright.. The first year that we shot a lot of divers we had to break out the bird book to correctly identify them all

[Honkershooter36]

Nice job on the divers

[Migrator83]

nice shoot....love the pics!!!

[Nick Michael]

nice hunt guys looks like fun

[Whistler]

looks like a fun day, congrats guys!!