Description

Pintails, pinnies or sprigs! The most elegant duck as they are referred to by many sportsmen. In my flyway, they are our bonus duck, and other flyways they are their number one duck. I really think they are considered a trophy bird everywhere!

I don’t know of any other species of waterfowl more closely thought of when rice or rice fields enters a discussion. Mallards do come up considerably and of course so do specklebelly and snow geese. Pintails are king in California and high royalty at the very least in Texas and Louisiana.  Interestingly enough, high rice production areas are in parts of these states as is in Arkansas. Mallards reign king in Arkansas but if there is a next in line for the throne that title surely has to be the pintail! This call in “The North American Collection” is my tribute to the rice industry and the magnificent pintail. Sprig, pinnies or pintails migrate down the Mississippi flyway through Arkansas shortly after the blue winged teal make their annual appearances in September. In fact, one must be careful in early teal season not to mistake this duck for teal as some are mixed in with the early migrants. September finds some of the earlier migrating pinnies in Arkansas, many times around the “Duck Capital of the World”, Stuttgart to be exact. Rice growing in this region has been a practice for many, many decades, attracting untold millions of waterfowl. Hunting clubs abound and flourish here. Pintails with their like for rice love this area! My call creates the scene of a small flock of pintails passing over Stuttgart on their way to the surrounding rice fields. Not a newcomer to the area, the foremost drake carries a bird band on his leg. The massive rice elevator bins in the background are ready for the fall harvest. A Kiwanis sign as well as the chamber of commerce with its annual waterfowl festival welcomes everyone to this rich fun filled, world renown duck hunting town. Oh, and should you ever forget it’s the rice and duck capital of the world, Stuttgart’s sign will remind you! The insert is very unique. Unique in that the rice shown is green. When harvested, the rice, much like wheat, turns brownish yellow, ripe and ready for the grain bin! However, as the pintails arrive, the rice is still mainly green. The filled-out heads of the rice bow down ready to ripen as nature’s autumn season progresses! The green and purplish speculum wing feathers and a single hen’s side feather give a splendid touch to the call, my tribute to the magnificent pintail!

I so hope you enjoy!

Joe Bucher