HAYES, La. — The pintails came in from behind the pit blind, giving up their position with a medley of peeps and purrs and the shrill noise of air rushing over rigid wings. They sailed over the decoys, never beating a wing, and turned low and wide on the far side of the flooded field.
"Oh my," Erik Rue said. "This could get interesting."
They were the first pintails of the day, and their sudden appearance had a mesmerizing effect. Their slender bodies shined in the golden morning sun, sleek shapes punctuated by long, pointed tails.
A group of mallards made sure the spell didn't last. As the pintails worked over the downwind end of the...