In a letter to Ray Marshalla, chief waterfowl biologist for Illinois, Potter wrote:

"Ray, I hope you will share this with any one who asks you about spinning-wing decoys.

"Setting #1 - The Pas, Manitoba - September 30, 2002 - A heavy freeze had frozen the marsh. We were only able to get within 100 -150 yards of where the ducks were sitting on open water. With no way to reach the ducks, we set a spinning wing decoy up on DRY ground in the cattails. The spinning-wings were just above the top of the cattails. Once the decoy was in place it was a though a light switch was turned on. Each time a duck got up off the open water it would see the decoy and head right over. In about 45 minutes 4 hunters filled out. When we turned the spinning-wings off and stood there, not a duck came within gun range.

"Setting #2 - Devils Lake, North Dakota - October 28, 2002 - the day before the ducks left the country. A group of a 1000 or so mallards were stubble feeding coming off a reservoir. They were out in a field with no cover. With no place to hide, we set up 1 spinning-wing decoy at the edge of the field some 200 yards from where the ducks wanted to land out in the center of the field and stood in the cattails. In the 30 minutes before sunset nearly every flock that lifted off the reservoir and headed to the field decoyed right to the spinning-wing decoy, and this is with other ducks on the ground 200 yards away. We quickly filled out.

"Setting #3 - Libertyville, Illinois - November 3, 2002 - Ray, you have been to our marsh - you may remember it is about 15 acres. Well, it was frozen solid, but there were about 1,500 ducks on a nearby slough that is much deeper. I put a spinning-wing decoy in the ice in front of the blind. I had no open water except that which I made walking to the decoy location from the blind and I had no other decoys out of any kind. Just the spinning-wing. Within 1 hour we had decoyed 15 flocks of ducks of varying species. The biggest problem on a few occasions was to not shoot the spinning-wing decoy as the ducks tried to land on it.

"In all three instances described above, the only decoy was a spinning-wing. In all three instances we were not where the ducks wanted to go, but the decoy changed that.

"As you know, I have hunted ducks a lot across the continent. The spinning-wing decoy may not always work, but in these instances and countless others in the past 3 years I can personally attest to its effectiveness at decoying ducks. I do not see how it can do anything but increase the success of hunters.

"I thought you would find these hunting situations of interest."
 
Posted Nov. 5, 2002

This is certainly turning out to be one of the most unusual years for waterfowl hunters. Mixed reports have been common. But none is more intriguing than this from Jerry Serie, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Atlantic Flyway representative, who spends two weeks each October waterfowl hunting in North Dakota.

"There was a huge migration out of North Dakota on Oct. 29," said Serie. "Wave after wave went over all day."

Series and his brother killed limits that day by 9:30 a.m. He added that after returning to his lodging, he could step outside and view a sky filled with ducks. He could step outside an hour later and still view a sky still filled with southbound fowl. This was true even into the late afternoon.

What piqued Serie's curiosity, however, were the mallards he shot in the days prior to the migration.

"They had very little body fat," he said. "They were not in condition to fly a long distance."

This suggests the migration will be one of short hops, rather than one long flight to the southern wintering grounds.

Posted Nov. 5, 2002.

OREGON BANS ELECTRONIC DECOYS 

The ban includes all motorized and mechanical decoys used to attract waterfowl, game birds and big game.

The decision this month was not based on a biological rationale. Nor was it based on popular opinion. A poll of duck hunters found them evenly divided on the use of motorized spinning-wing decoys.

Instead, it was an ethical judgment.

"We need to draw a line somewhere, said Commissioner Jeff Feldner.

Added Commission Chairman John Esler, "In my opinion, if we don't put an edge to it now, there will never be an edge."

Spinning-wing duck decoys have been highly controversial since their introduction several years ago. Some argue the decoys are too effective and destroy the element of skill involved in traditional waterfowling.

Hand-powered decoys that employ jerk cords and wind-powered spinning-wing decoys will still be permitted. But all decoys electrically powered or mechanically powered by, say, a wind-up spring, will be forbidden beginning in the autumn of 2003.

According to the Portland Oregonian, Oregon is the 12th state to place limits on the use of electronic decoys.

Posted Oct. 22, 2002

The National Audubon Society has won its court battle to allow trapping of predators on California's federal wildlife refuges, a decision that partly overturns the voter-approved statewide ban on the use of leg-hold traps.

Judge William A. Fletcher of the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled last month that state law does not over-ride the federal Endangered Species Act or the National Wildlife Refuge Systems Improvement Act, the latter governing how federal authorities manage more than 500 refuges in the United States.

"This case pits bird-lovers, seeking to protect endangered and threatened species, against fox-lovers," Fletcher stated in his opinion.

The suit followed passage in November 1998 of Proposition 4, a statewide referendum banning the use of leg-hold traps. Audubon argued that refuge managers should be permitted to trap any predator that preys on any bird species, including ducks and geese. It noted that refuge managers have routinely trapped red foxes, skunks, raccoons and feral cats to protect nesting birds.

The organization opposed the use of steel-jawed leg-hold traps, but endorsed the use of padded traps that hold an animal until it can be captured and euthanized.

Animal-rights groups argued all traps were inhumane.

"This was one of the most critical rulings in recent years for us," said Arthur Feinstein, executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society in Berkeley. "The predators were are talking about can eliminate large numbers of birds in a short time."

Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, which opposed Audubon's suit, said, "We're disappointed that the Audubon Society essentially aligned themselves with commercial fur trappers and duck hunters."

Audubon was joined in the lawsuit by the California Waterfowl Association and California Trappers Association.

Posted Oct. 22, 2002