Bird Hunting Report by NICK SISLEY

DATELINE: RIO NEGRO, URUGUAY

Time table: Year round for doves and pigeons, May – July for ducks and perdiz

Accommodations: Magnificent and totally restored old estancia

Food: Excellent with prime beef a specialty

Hunt: Easy – with walking required for the perdiz

No matter where you want to shoot in South America some serious driving is often required. Some drives involve an hour or more to get to the shooting – and then an hour or more driving back to the lodge. On the good side of this I have almost always found the long drives are certainly worth it because the shooting has been so mind boggling.

But at San Cirilo Lodge near Rio Negro, Uruguay it is possible to do all your shooting right on the lodge property. A few of my drives were only five minutes. The farthest I ever drove when we stayed on the estancia property was 15 minutes. That was the first morning of my hunt there, and we could almost see San Cirilo lodge from where we were shooting. It was simply that we had to take a round about route to get to that corn field. As you will see, we did make one long drive, this to hunt a dove roost.

Guide Louis had everything set up at our harvested corn field destination that first morning. There was a blind with camo netting around three sides. Sock type dove decoys were quivering in the wind – attached to the top of the camo netting blind. Further, there were two spinning wing dove decoys to attract birds, plus a spinning carrousel with two long arms, a dove decoy attached to the end of each long arm, the carrousel turning via the power of a 12-volt car battery.

That corn field was on higher ground just above the Rio Negro River. Guide Louis told me the birds would come up from their roosting trees along the river – flying into the corn field to feast – from right in front of our position. But the river had bled off much of its moisture during the night for our field was blanketed in dense fog. So we listened to the whirr of the spinning wing decoys and the hum of the carrousel and waited.

By eight o’clock the fog began to lift – and the shooting began. Over the next few hours I noted that small flocks of doves were definitely enticed by all those decoys Louis and I had working for us. But there were many large dove flocks that came up from their river roosting trees, some with 30, 50, 75 even 100 birds. Those huge flocks were not usually fooled, but I did note that a few birds out of every such large flock would turn for our spread – big mistake.

It was one fabulous morning of shooting, but I took plenty of time off to photograph the spectacle, for in maybe 50 shooting trips to South America this was the very first time I had ever been set up for doves with decoys. Now I’m not saying that you need dove decoys to enjoy a fabulous dove shoot down there, but what I am saying is that the doves really decoyed so well, and what serious shotgunner does not get a thrill from having birds decoy? Checking my notes I read, “I didn’t shoot that long, and most of my shots were my favorite right to left crossers. After the fog burned off the sky was a beautiful blue – not a cloud – what a day to be alive and well.”

That afternoon we drove to a dove roost off the property, so I got my hour’s worth of driving in. If you have shot a dove roost in Argentina or Uruguay before – as the birds come in for the night – you know what kind of experience that can produce. If you have not enjoyed that experience be certain to put that on your life list of things to do.

We did our duck shooting at a small pond the next morning – mostly round – about 60 yards across. Louis had decoys on the water (ankle deep) and pigeon decoys on land at the water’s edge. Louis expected this would be a combination shoot, with the emphasis on the pigeons. But it was ducks that wanted into that pond that morning – more than pigeons. For reasons I won’t expound upon at this time my 12 gauge Perazzi was out of service since I left the fore-end at home. So I was shooting my 28 gauge Caesar Guerini. Normally, I get 21 gram 28 gauge loads in South America, but that morning I was shooting 15 gram 28 gauge loads – obviously very light. So I was careful with my shooting, making certain all the ducks were within close range. But I still managed a double on a pair of teal, and within two hours my total was close to the lodge duck limit, and I had even shot a few decoying pigeons. I was only able to hunt two days at San Cirilo. I wish I could have stayed longer and enjoyed a genuine decoying pigeon shoot, which I am certain this lodge offers.

That second afternoon I went with Louis and one of the lodge’s English setters, Panquin – our quest the spotted tinamou, more commonly known here and there as the perdiz. We were almost within walking distance of the lodge when Louis turned the dog loose. The grass pasture cover was short due to the long drought the area was experiencing, but I knew from past familiarity that these upland birds don’t need much cover to hide in.

I keep a stitch counter around my neck, for I love to keep track of the number of bird flushes, and I keep track of the time hunted as well. Louis had the setter down for two hours and 10 minutes, and we had 37 perdiz flushes – all almost within sight of the San Cirilo hacienda. The perdiz limit in this area is 12 birds, and the sun was still well above the horizon when we quit shooting – our bag full – our experience very rich.

My notes made that evening end with, “When a perdiz (or any other bird) offers a quartering away or crossing shot – the shot is both easier and more efficient – compared to a bird flying straight away from the shooter – especially if any distance is involved with the latter type shot.”

The contact for a shoot at San Cirilo Lodge (operated by Black River Outfitters) is Jeri Booth, Detail Company Adventures, 3220 Audley, Houston, TX 77098 – 800-292-2211. Nick Sisley