Loosening things up looks more natural to the birds.

It's a fact that some hunters harvest more ducks and geese than other hunters. I once thought that successful hunters were just lucky. However, I now feel success is a result of paying close attention to details, watching how birds react to various situations, recognizing when mistakes are made and avoiding making the same mistake twice.

Throughout the last 30 years of waterfowling, I've made more than my fair share of mistakes. However, during that time, I've also learned from those mistakes and become a better hunter. I've definitely learned from my experiences, and they've made me a better hunter.

1. Not Remaining Motionless
One of the reasons I hunt waterfowl is because it's exciting. The sights and sounds get my heart pounding and blood flowing. In my early years of hunting, it was common nature for me to fidget in my blind and swivel my head in multiple directions while searching the skies for incoming birds.

When birds approached, I often got caught up in the excitement and started watching them. While doing so, I had a tendency to move my head with the birds. This unnatural motion and the glare off my face alerted the birds and helped them pinpoint danger below. When this happened, the birds flared and I didn't get any shooting opportunities.

Over time I realized my motion and that of my buddies' was flaring birds. As a direct result, I stay low and move slowly while watching for incoming birds. On most occasions, I try to move only my eyes and keep my head as still as possible. When hunting with a group of hunters, my buddies and I pick one hunter to do all the watching and calling of the shots. While we're waiting for the "take 'em" signal, we keep our heads down and have trust in our partner to call the shot at the right time. In addition, since we all enjoy watching the birds we regularly take turns doing the watching and calling.

2. Improper Use Of Camouflage
I grew up hunting ducks and geese while wearing tan and green colored clothing and have come to the realization that waterfowling and camouflage go hand in hand. Nowadays, I use camouflage to blend in with the natural surroundings. Blinds and accessories also benefit from camouflage because they disappear into the surroundings making it hard for birds to detect a human presence.

Over time, I've discovered that not all camouflage is created equal. When stepping away from the spread to retrieve vehicles or downed birds, I've observed that older patterns with their blocky shapes appear like a solid blob. However, the newer patterns with contrasting earth tones and natural shapes create an open, irregular and realistic effect.

In recent times, camouflage creators have gone an extra step by adding counter shading to their patterns. This unique shading process increases the shape and color contrast of the camouflage patterns. The result is a three dimensional illusion so realistic, that no matter what distance I'm looking at it, I get the impression I can reach right through the pattern.

Over time, I've learned to match my camo pattern to each individual situation. For example, I'll never wear a dark pattern in a lighter colored environment or vice-versa. Similarly I would never think of using a snow pattern unless there was snow on the ground. In some situations I'll wear the same camo pattern from head to toe, yet on other occasions I find it beneficial to mix and match various patterns.