THE LAND, SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
30 A
John Cross/Mankato Free Press
“Where Farm and Family Meet”
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Calm winds and low water conditions made for a poor 2013 Minnesota Waterfowl Opener on Lake Bella in southwest Minnesota.
Ducks, water scarce in SW Minnesota on opener In Nobles County, located bone-dry. in extreme southwest MinThree years ago, we were nesota and just a stone’s able to motor easily to the throw from arid South spot. Hunting was excellent. Dakota, water can be a Two years ago, we could scarce, precious commodity reach the spot, but only even in the best of times. after closing the last several But that is especially so in hundred yards with pushyears such as this, when poles and middle-aged musrainfall has come sparingly cle. But once there, the THE OUTDOORS over the summer months. waterfowl hunting once So Dale VanThuyne and I again was worth the effort. By John Cross were not altogether surLast year, during the prised at what we found on the eve of Drought of 2012, we didn’t even bother. Minnesota’s waterfowl opener, as we Months with virtually no rainfall had scouted Lake Bella, located seven miles transformed our hunting spot to an south of Worthington. expanse of cracked, dry mud better After several months of meager rain- suited to hunting pheasants than waterfowl. fall, the man-made lake that was created in the 1960s as a reservoir to In spite of the current low-water conassist in recharging that community’s ditions on this year’s opener, we neverchronically thirsty water wells, was theless were encouraged by several extremely low. hundred blue-winged teal that bobbed The wide expanses of mud that sepa- on the waves, occasionally taking to rated the thick ring of cattails from the wing, circling, then settling onto the water again. water’s edge made it clear the lightweight boat we had brought along Since teal are some of the earliest would be useless. waterfowl to migrate from Minnesota, we presumed these were migrants takWhat’s more, even if we could have ing advantage of the brisk, chilly launched the craft, the area we had northwest wind, the result of the hoped to hunt — the upper reaches of weather change earlier in the day. the lake where a meandering creek widens to form the lake basin — was See FOWL, pg. 31A