WATERFOWL CALLING

Calling waterfowl is one of the least understood and yet most important aspects of waterfowl hunting. Good calling can make a hunt successful, but bad calling is worse than no calling at all. Good calling techniques are not difficult to learn, and most anyone can master the skills with proper instruction and practice. Selecting a waterfowl call, or a variety of them, is a very personal choice and should be made after trying as many calls as you can find. All calls of a certain kind, like common duck calls, are all made to generate almost the same sound, but there is a wide variation in ease of use, appearance, durability and tone. It is suggested that you choose one call and master the calling technique with it before proceeding to another, but it is also advisable to end up being skilled in a number of different calls. Having several calls on hand is a good idea, as even the best or most expensive calls can become clogged and inoperable at the very time that you need them the most. What works well for one hunter might not be right for another. There are many different techniques used for the different waterfowl species, but only four basic types of waterfowl calls. The first is the “standard duck call” which produces a variety of different quacking sounds made by most puddle ducks, in particular mallards. Next is the “diver call” which generates the “brrrrr” sound of diver ducks such as buffleheads, golden eyes, canvasbacks and mergansers. Third, we have the “whistle call” made to imitate the sounds of the whistling ducks, such as teal, wood duck and pintail. Lastly is a group of several kinds and categories of “goose calls” which produce the various honks, shrieks and laughs of the different goose species. There is a variety of each of these calls made by many manufacturers, and they are commonly made from hardwoods, a variety of plastics, and rubber. Take your time, experiment, and choose quality brand-name calls that work the best for you.

The ultimate way to learn how to call is to be on a hunt with an expert waterfowl caller who is willing to take the time to teach you. You will have the advantage of being in a hunting situation where you can hear the various calls and watch the reactions of the waterfowl. If you are not one of the lucky ones to have a calling pro at your disposal, try using a waterfowl calling tape or video made by several different call manufacturers. These instructional tapes and videos will teach you the best methods for each particular call, as well as the variety of sounds that need to be used. You can also spend time in marshes or other waterfowl habitat listening and imitating birds in the wild, and this can be done at any time of the year when birds are present. Pay particular attention to how they react to your call and interact to each other’s sounds. Outside of the hunting season, you may find yourself alone in this natural schoolhouse, with the marsh and the waterfowl all to yourself. Now it’s practice and practice and practice and more practice until you’re one of the calling pros that people seek out for instruction.

The most frequently used call is the quacking sound made by mallards and other puddle ducks, and almost all duck species will respond to the mallard calls. By far the most popular call is a tube type made of wood or plastic that is blown by mouth, but there is also a shaker type call that will produce some of the sounds. The first step to blowing a call is learning how to properly hold the call. Encircle the end of the call with your thumb and forefinger and cup your fingers to form a type of “bell” around the end of the call. This way you can control the sound by opening and closing your fingers. Next place the call on the inside of the bottom lip and bring it up against the outside of your upper lip. Close your lips tightly so that no air can escape your mouth without going through the call. Bring air up from the chest by rolling the diaphragm upward to push a large amount of air through the call. This air from the chest, instead of the mouth, will add a “grunt” to the sounds made by the call and make your effort more realistic by eliminating the hollow and high-pitched tones. At the same time that you force air through the call, you will need to say a word-sound, such as “wick”, tick-it” or “kak”, and it might take some time to learn to say these words and yet produce the right amount of air pressure. It might seem awkward at first, but with practice it will come naturally. “Wick” is the word used to make the quacking sounds of a hen mallard. Begin by saying “wick” and blowing through your call. You can produce a variety of different sounding quacks by holding onto the word “wick” longer and changing the tone by moving your fingers. You will need to be able to produce at least five natural sounding quacks in a sequence before your training is done. The next basic sound is “tick-it”, which is used to imitate the feeding chuckles of puddle ducks. This is probably the most difficult of the calling techniques to learn, but if you start slowly, you can increase your speed as you become more proficient. Say the word “tick-it” into your call, fluttering your tongue as you force air through the call. You will need to keep practicing until you can continuously say the word fast enough to generate a kind of soft, chuckling sound. Say the word “kak” into the call, as you grunt from the chest, to produce the clucking sound of a hen mallard. This sound can be intermixed with feeding chuckles in a realistic series of calls.

When you are producing accurate basic sounds with your call, it’s time to work on the six different calling patterns used in various hunting situations:

1. The “hail” or “highball” call is used to attract the attention of ducks as far away as a half-mile or more. It is a loud demanding call and it should not be used for ducks that are closer than two hundred yards. You say the word “wick” into the call as loud as you can, forcing air through the call until the sound breaks on a high note. Hold this high pitched sound to the count of five and learn to do it five times in succession, and then come down the scale in pitch and volume as fast as possible.

2. The “close-in hail call” is a shorter, softer version of the “highball” call, and it can also be called the “sit-down”, “five quack” or “landing” call. It is comprised of five fairly short, fast quacks that start high and come down the scale in both tone and volume. You might also try extending the first quack. This is an effective call to use on alert, wary ducks circling the blind or decoys at a range of less than 100 yards, and you can mix it with feeding chatter for even better success. This can be a type of begging sound by stretching out the word “wi…..ck” to a long sound, starting fairly high and coming down the scale fairly slow and low. Try this five times and intermix with feeding chuckles.

3. The “comeback call” is really effective when ducks are starting to land just outside your decoys. It is not as loud as the “highball” call, but it starts just as high. Say “wick” three times, coming down the scale very fast, and then repeat the word “wick” three or four more times, getting slower at the end to simulate a stretched-out begging sound.

4. The “lonesome hen call” can be a great call to use on single drakes or small flocks of cautious ducks. Use a series of soft calls with the word “wick” to make raspy, soft quacks combined with the word “kak” produce the cluck, and mix all this with feeding chatter. Then finish with a series of long drawn-out pleading quacks using the word “wick”.

You can call wood ducks, teal, pintail and widgeons with the same quacks, techniques and patterns that you use for mallards, but on some occasions it helps to add the special whistling sounds that these species make. You can produce a more realistic calling pattern by interjecting nothing more than a toy police whistle blown fairly softly to produce the soft whistles, or there are several specialty calls available for this purpose. Mix these soft whistles with soft quacks, and if possible have two callers in the blind with one quacking and the other whistling.

Diving ducks, including buffleheads, golden eyes, canvasbacks and mergansers, will also respond to the mallard calls, but too have their own distinct sounds. You can often times call in wary divers by intermixing these sounds with your calling pattern, and there is a variety of specialty calls to accomplish this purpose. You should mix soft quacks with these sharp, bark-like calls, deep growls and “brrrrrs”, and you can even do this all on a standard mallard call by fluttering your tongue on the roof of your mouth while grunting into your call. Still, a call made for this particular purpose is generally more realistic and easier to use. When you first see a flock of divers, begin offering a series of very high quick quacks as diving ducks call very fast. As the flock nears, lower the pitch of the quacks and add the growls and “brrrrrs”.

Calling geese is in many ways similar to calling ducks with subtle differences. Goose calls are normally easier to blow as they are often simply blown through, rather than using the grunt as with duck calls, however many callers still prefer to use the grunting technique. They are typically a bit larger than duck calls, but they are held and positioned against the lips in much the same manner. There are a variety of goose calls and manufacturers, but Canada goose calls are by far the most common, and these can also be used for calling snow geese, blues and specklebellies. Many successful hunters of these other species still prefer to carry separate calls for each species, as the sounds are much higher pitched, sharper and quicker and more demanding. Just as in calling ducks, there are basic words used to call Canada geese as you blow through the call. The three magic words are “what”, “hut” and “ha-ha-ha-ha-ha”, and by using these three words you can create all the sounds needed to call in these big honkers. Break up the word “what” into two syllables and say this through the call. Start the sound low with a long “whaaa” and finish with higher pitched, sharp “t” sound at the end. Use fairly low breath pressure to start the call and then increase the pressure slowly until the sound breaks up to the higher pitched sound. Your tongue should come in contact with the roof of your mouth, just behind the front teeth, as the final sharp end-note of the sound is made. It takes a fair amount of air pressure through some calls to produce the higher pitched sound, and one of the challenges of learning this call is to produce the correct amount of air pressure to achieve the sound that you want. Begin by slowly until you can create a natural two-note call and then learn to do it four or five times in a row with the same breathe. Saying “hut” though your call will produce very short feeding honks or clucks and this can also be an effective landing call. Say “ha ha ha ha ha” to make the chuckles and feeding chatter of geese enjoying a meal. Blow short puffs of air through your call while saying a series of “ha” and you will produce the low note of the two-note goose call that we described here first. Start slowly, but when you have mastered it you will be able to say it in a very fast chatter to simulate feeding.

Just like duck calling, success comes by incorporating these calling sounds into series or patterns to lure the birds to your decoys. The first call to begin with is the “greeting call”. This call is effective when you spot distant geese, particularly in small flocks or family groups, as geese in larger flocks in a far off “line” or “V” are flight geese and probably won’t be interested in your calls. If however, you are dealing with huge flocks in the early stages of migration, even if they are “lined” or in a “V”, you might be able to draw younger birds away from the flock and to your decoys. Offer a series of “what” two-note calls until the birds turn toward your decoys, and then increase the speed of your calling, trying to sound ever more desperate. You might even try adding a few extra high notes to your series to simulate several geese calling at once. Once you are convinced that the geese are coming your way, mix in feeding and chuckling sounds, but beware as it is here that most over-anxious callers lose their quarry. Try opening and closing your hand on the call to achieve a variety of sounds, and with goose calling you can’t have too many callers, as the more natural noise that you make the better it sounds to the geese. You know what a racket a big flock of Canadas make when they fly over, and this is precisely what they feel comfortable hearing. If you happen to be hunting a grain field, there is one more call that might interest you and the geese. You can buy specialty calls to make the sounds called “bleat calling”, but you can also accomplish this with your standard goose call. This is nothing more than continuous honking, consisting series of standard honks, until you have geese that are heading towards your decoys with wings locked. Then switch to a very fast feed call, using only the word “hut”, as this will often get the geese very exited and they may decoy faster.

Remember that many times waterfowl will swing right into your decoy spread with no calling at all, and the old adage that “no calling at all is much better than bad calling” is certainly appropriate. If you are fortunate enough to have large flocks already swirling around your sets, you might want to leave your calls hanging on the lanyard, as the birds probably won’t hear your call anyway in the confusion and you might tip your hand with some noticed movement. In this situation, it is best to savor the moment and concentrate on your shooting accuracy.