Winter is a unique time of year along the Emerald Coast.

The leaves have fallen, there’s a nip in the air and 5 a.m. shotgun blasts reverberate across Choctawhatchee Bay and Santa Rosa Sound.

Local hunters love duck season.

“I have been duck hunting here in the Choctawhatchee Bay and surrounding areas with my father since I was a young boy and he has hunted it way before me,” said hunter Royce Dahnke. “It is a tradition that I cherish and memories I have inlaid within me and will never forget.”

Animal enthusiasts and waterfront residents in need of a good night’s sleep hate the sport.

“Every duck season they go out into the water at Meigs Park and wade out here behind the houses. They set up their decoys and stand there for…