Beautiful Blackies

C

Colin Fitzpatrick

Active member
Took my dad and a friend out Saturday morning hoping to see some movement with the strong winds we had. Right around shooting time we had teal buzz the decoys so I had a pretty good feeling the birds were going to be on the move. Not much longer after that, black ducks filled the skies! We each shot our 1 black duck and proceeded to miss plenty of opportunities at teal...however these black ducks were as pretty as they get, the two drakes were studs!
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Yes they were. It is always nice seeing pics by folks that keep their birds looking nice. Obviously every bird isn't going to be picture perfect, but with a little care, they can all look pretty good. Nothing worse than a ratty wet pile of birds.

Those drakes have a lot of mallard in them and in some areas could be counted as "any ducks" or "mallards" (= could have shot more). Find out for your area if this is the case, since some areas they just count as blacks even though they are hybrids.

Good description that as far as I know is solid:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/...ds/diplume/index.htm


Our biologist took a stand and made it clear in the regs what is a hybrid.
http://www.ct.gov/...amp;deepNav_GID=1633

Thanks for posting those up! Nice.
 
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That is fantastic, Colin. I happen to really like that hen, also. Glad you had such a good outing.
Al
 
Wow thanks for pointing that out! I would have never picked up on that...is it the white on the wing patches that would make them a hybrid?
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The white on the black tipped feathers forward of the speculum feathers, not the white on the trailing edge of the wing following the speculum. You have to be sure what Jersey and your fish cops count them as though!!!!

Some wardens call them blacks, some mallards, some hen mallards, some any duck - it depends on the state/area, so you have to make sure for yourself.
 
I'm interested what NJ would rule as I never seem to run into CO's and would be interested to hear. Now for me I'd call them black ducks just to be safe though it's obvious they are hybrids.

Stud birds regardless!
 
Nice birds. We were looking for those on Saturday and never found them.

Todd, the clarity of CT's regs, and the nice figure about how the hybrid/black call will be made, are outstanding. Maine seems to follow the same approach, but I know that only after several discussions with wardens over birds in hand.
 
Nice birds. We were looking for those on Saturday and never found them.

Todd, the clarity of CT's regs, and the nice figure about how the hybrid/black call will be made, are outstanding. Maine seems to follow the same approach, but I know that only after several discussions with wardens over birds in hand.
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I used to shoot a lot of these hybrids in upstate NY when I was a kid, so I'm familiar with them, but I hardly ever shoot them here. Were I in a place where I shot them a couple times a season, I'd be sure to contact the enforcement officers that I'd be likely to meet and make sure I understood their thoughts, just as you have done in ME. This includes state AND federal agents that you may run across. CT has made it easy for us, so I'm good.

They don't have hybrid black ducks in California, so it that a positive or negative on the tally? :).

T
 
Here's one in my basement that my dad shot a few years back...I'm assuming this one here is a true black. I never would have picked up on these being hybrids but I think I would just play it safe and only take my 1. It would definitely be interesting to see what they count as though!
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Here's one in my basement that my dad shot a few years back...I'm assuming this one here is a true black. I never would have picked up on these being hybrids but I think I would just play it safe and only take my 1. It would definitely be interesting to see what they count as though!
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Yes.
 
Even with it being spelled out in the regs as it is in ct I would count it as my black. No need fighting with a co because im sure they will give you a hard time
 
Even with it being spelled out in the regs as it is in ct I would count it as my black. No need fighting with a co because im sure they will give you a hard time
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Just have enforcement call Min if you had any trouble.
 
So what are the thoughts of removing the hybrids as a conservation tool? If we were able to count the hybrids as an "other" duck, and maybe shoot 2 or 3 during a hunt rather than just 1, would that be an advantage to the Black Duck? I would think it would... but am no biologist. I wish the Feds would be specific as CT is and then we would all have the same reference. I know I can tell an obvious hybrid, but as Chris does, don't shoot another "black" once I have one that is not obvious a mallard. I rarely shoot the hen mallards anyway, so for me it is greenheads and black ducks. But when I hunt Lake Champlain, the hunt can be over quick once a black is taken, and having the hybrid acknowleged would certainly give some options for more hunting.
 
Even with it being spelled out in the regs as it is in ct I would count it as my black. No need fighting with a co because im sure they will give you a hard time
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That is why it pays to get to know the CO(s0 in your area.
Call them and talk about it. Carry the printout from the CT page with you. If you know where they stand up front, you can potentially add a nice bird or two to your bag.
 
Here on the coast if it werent for blacks with a little mallard in them we wouldnt have any blacks. Killing them off wouldnt be any sort of conservation tool. A couple years ago I had a great big pair of blacks mounted. Everyone thought I was nuts because we have "black" duck everywhere here but these were the first true red legged black ducks I'd seen in 10 years or more. I havent seen one since.
The GW's in VA count those as a black...which it most represents. Even if it has a good amount of green in the head its still considered a black.
 
im sorry for derailing this post and those were beautiful birds either way

i have worked with most of the co's from my area, they are fine and our regs have pictures showing that white on the speculum is a hybrid and counts only aginst your daily bag limit. now if you can tell its a hybrid before you shoot it I.E. greenheaded black, a brewers duck, pintail/mallard, (we once shot a black mixed with some thing, it had a big white circle on its breast) i guess then i would shoot another "real" black. i guess its just me

as a conservation tool, i was looking at duck regs for other states (trying to weed out places not to move too) and florida gives out permits begining in April to euthanise mallard hens and mallard clutches to help the mottled duck population. this boggled my mind at first because any ducks are good ducks, but then again the mottled duck is having the same problem as the black duck.

we are definetly losing our black duck population, one of the biggest reasons is the mallard out competing the black for nesting sites. even though i love the black duck everything is always changing, i heard stories of the scaup bonus season in the 80's, now im excited just to see a few of the birds let alone get to shoot extra birds. populations fluctuate and stronger more adaptable species can assert dominance, you know "survival of the fittest."

im still waiting on swan season, we saw a swan kill a goose this year on a little pond. i would love to have a lottery like other states, i know its a different kind of swan but i hate those things
 
Chris

The mute swan you saw kill a goose was a mute swan. They are NOT protected under Federal law. Talk to your CO friends or as Todd suggested talk to Min.
 
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