WESTPORT — Two duck hunters are dead and a third is hospitalized after they were tossed into the frigid Westport River when their boat apparently capsized this morning, Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter Jr.’s office said.
The identities of all three men have not been confirmed, officials said. There was nothing suspicious about the incident, but an investigation is underway. The hunter who survived was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, authorities said.
Authorities said they first learned about the incident around 8 a.m. when someone reported seeing an upside-down skiff floating in the river, officials said. That triggered a search by sea and air by Westport officials, State Police and the US Coast Guard.
During the search, Westport Harbormaster Richard Earle said, a hunter’s glove was found a half mile from the mouth of the river, leading Earle to believe that the hunters ran into trouble around that location. He said the river had choppy 3-foot seas today, combined with strong winds. He estimated they were blowing about 20 miles per hour.
“You had wind against the tide in the middle of the river. You had 3-feet chop,’’ said Earle, who said the conditions would have been challenging for a small skiff outfitted for duck hunting. He said the aluminum boat was no more than 16 feet long. “I got a feeling they were in the middle of the river.”
Earle said the body of one man washed up on the shore on the west end of Horseneck Beach around 10 a.m.; the body of the second man soon afterwards washed up nearby. The third man made it to a small island in the middle of the river, where he was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter around 9:30 a.m., the Coast Guard said.
The survivor, described as a man in his 40s and 50s, was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence for treatment, officials said. His condition was not immediately available.
According to the National Weather Service, the water temperature this morning at Woods Hole, across Buzzards Bay, was 35.4 degrees.
The men had launched their boat at the state boat ramp on John Reed Road at Horseneck Beach State Reservation, Earle said. A dark-colored pickup truck with attached trailer remained in the parking lot there today, officials said.
The Westport River estuary is a popular hunting spot for sea ducks, said Ray Ilgs, of Ducks Unlimited, the non-profit group that supports both duck hunting and wetlands conservation. Ilgs said the area is known for three species of sea ducks — the eider, the scoter, and the old squaw. Among sea duck hunters, the top target is the eider.
“It’s kind of a hunter’s bucket list to be able to come out to hunt these birds,’’ Ilgs said of eiders. “You don’t see them all over the US. They are very tough, durable birds. Their skin is like Kevlar.’’ He also said sea duck hunters head out when the weather is bad because that’s when ducks, like the eider, are most active, increasing the chances a hunter can spot and shoot a duck.
He said sea ducks, and especially eiders, do not migrate during the winter to warmer southern climes as many other duck species do. In fact, he said, for eiders, New England, Maryland and Long Island are the warm, sunny climate they migrate to from their summer homes in Canada’s maritime provinces.
He said eiders thrive in tough New England wintertime conditions, and are more likely to move around during snowstorms, gusting winds, and bitterly cold temperatures like those this morning on the Westport River.
“In nicer weather, they hunker down on the grass on the shore, not moving,’’ said Ilgs. “The nastier the weather, the more they like it.’’ This means that duck hunters must venture out in the nastiest weather to increase their chances of shooting an eider.
Duck hunters are “passionate about it. They go out in the nastiest weather,’’ Ilgs said. “It’s not a sport for people that don’t enjoy rough weather, crazy elements, that sort of thing. You’ve got to be willing to bear it all.’’
The apparent duck hunting mishap follows the disappearance Dec. 30 of a Brown University student, also on the state’s southern coast. Dana Dourdeville, 21, of Marion failed to return from a duck hunting trip in Fairhaven. His mother found his car parked at West Island State Beach in Fairhaven and the Coast Guard found his kayak about 2½ miles east of West Island.
John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Jacqueline Tempera can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow her on twitter @jacktemp
Peter Schworm can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.
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