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Welcome to Geoffrey Wale's Upland Bird and Waterfowl Hunting Homepage

My name is Geoffrey Wale. I live and work in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I am a professional librarian. I was educated at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.

I am a keen sportsman and naturalist with a lifelong interest in fishing, hunting, sportsmanship and conservation. I have memberships in the following organizations:

Delta Waterfowl Foundation

Ducks Unlimited Canada

Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

Ruffed Grouse Society of Canada

Currently I am the proud owner of a Brittany named Maggie. Maggie is Christie's niece, born November 30, 2002. I brought Maggie home in January of 2003. The 2003 upland season was Maggie's first. Sadly, Christie passed away on May 19, 2004. Together, Christie and I enjoyed a great many days afield in pursuit of ruffed grouse, sharptailed grouse, woodcock, Wilson's snipe and pheasant. Maggie and I are fortunate enough to have great hunting partners, both canine and human. Brent Selles and Glenn Lester are two of my hunting partners with whom I spend a great deal of my time afield. Brent is a chef by trade, and Glenn is a financial planner. Brent and I have been hunting partners since 1995. I met Glenn at the Banquet of the Ottawa Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society of Canada in September, 1999. Together, Brent, Glenn, myself and our dogs had a banner grouse and woodcock season during the Autumn of 1999. In subsequent seasons, I have had the good fortune to find new hunting partners. Paul Fortin, whom I met at a park where I used to walk Christie, is from northern Ontario. Paul is the proud owner or a Golden Retriever named Tucker. Paul works as a claims adjustor in Worker's Compensation. I met two young hunters during the 2002 Fall season. Omer is a student at the university where I am employed. Eric was just finishing high school. The three of us had some great days afield in the 2002 season.

There are plenty of great hunting opportunities to be found just a short distance from Ottawa. I do most of my hunting on crown, i.e., public lands outside Ottawa. Some of the best grouse and woodcock hunting Christie, Maggie, my hunting partners and I find is in the Marlborough Forest. The Marlborough Forest is a sizeable tract of crown land found in Rideau Township, which is South of Ottawa. It is about a 40 minute drive for Christie, Maggie and me to reach our favoured covers in the Marlborough.

Great upland hunting can be found in the Larose Forest. The Larose Forest is located in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, which is east of Ottawa.

I am a keen waterfowler too. There is great waterfowl hunting to be had on the Ottawa and Rideau rivers which flow through Ottawa and beyond. In addition, there are a great many ponds and marshes on the crown lands surrounding Ottawa which hold a wide variety of waterfowl. The most common species of duck include the following: blacks, mallards, wood ducks, blue-wing teal, ring necked ducks (i.e., ringbills), greater scaup (i.e., broadbills), goldeneyes, bufflehead and mergansers.

Maggie's baby pictures.

Some interesting links

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