Three Mornings and LOTS of Broadbill

Steve,beautiful pics, with multiple observation days and massed scaup in breeding plumage, what was your estimate of their sex ratio?
 
Good morning, Phil~

Duck Clams are a separate species from the seed of Hard Clams (aka Quahogs - Mercenaria mercenaria) - they are smaller and smooth-shelled. I will defer to others with more marine training, though, to tell me their scientific name. I learned it as Gemma gemma - but Google tells me that is:


"The amethyst gem clam, Gemma gemma, is species of very small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams.
This is a small species, reaching a length of only 5 mm.[1] The shell color is whitish or grayish, suffused with purple on both outer and inner surfaces.
This species is native to the Atlantic coast of North America, from Labrador to Texas,[2] but it is now also found as an introduced species in some locations on the Pacific coast.[3]"

The name "Duck Clam" seems to have gone out of fashion. Google is not very helpful.....

BTW: The Hard Clam's Latin name genus Mercenaria - "mercenary" - denotes their use in making wampum.


In any event, I have seen Broadbill take small (Little Neck) Hard Clams and Blue Mussels - but I suspect they will take any shellfish or crustaceans that are available in abundance.

All the best,

SJS

 
Remember the extended bb season well. All the locals combined rigs and pulled out layout boats. In Shinnecock there 3/4 rigs that moved where that birds were rafted. One family built a 6 man floating blind.
Shooting was a all day affair with people stopping by a shooting for a hour and going back to work. The end of the day was a sight to see, 2/4 boats picking up 2/400 decoys.
One of my buddies [a carver] repainted 3 rigs a few years back for some friends in prep for another good year. O Well...
 
Steve,

Thanks for sharing the Photos. Brings back a lot of memories.
Nothing like "blackheads" tolling to the decoys..... I consider myself
fortunate that I was able to be in on Bonus season back in the Day.
 
Steve, that warms the heart - great shots! I was hunting back in January of '84(?) as I recall with Red Magnus and Ray Milek out at their bay shack near the Hudson Point Marina on Great South Bay and it looked like it would be a very slow day due to really cold temps, ice, and birds that were rafted up by the thousands showing no inclination to move. That ended when the British Airways Concorde jet came in, nose down for a landing at JFK a few miles away, and misjudged his air speed in the very cold air. The sonic boom that went off over the Bay was massive, and before it finished reverberating off all the houses surrounding the waterfront, we were "in the birds". It didn't last long, but it was the snappiest shooting I can ever remember down there -- and it was during the bonus season, so lots of birds came home with us for the breakfast break! Best, Rufus
 
RT that is so funny. I would drive an hour and a hafh to Brigantine, The helicopters going into AC would thump up the snow geese and scare them off the refuge.
The best were the A10s they would come in low and slow. They would scare the ducks ... not sure why the difference , We would wave at the pilots and they would wave back. Then I would turn into flounder. I'd start rubbing my hands together and saying this is going to be great,

Phil
 
Too bad the bay wasn't frozen over, with the only open water being in front of the West avenue dock in West Sayville. John Verbeke and Red Oster would know how to handle that! Rich
 
Good morning, RL~

I would guess that the sex ratio was 40:60 Drakes:Hens. Although I know the Aythyinae are famous for highly skewed sex ratios, I have never observed that on Great South Bay. Also, guide Red Oster sat next to me each day. He is a believer in a "dark" rig - and prefers lots of Hens. In fact, when I painted the 6 Homer Broadbill for him, he requested 4 Hens and 2 Drakes.

All the best,

SJS
 
Do you attach any significance to the ratio, assuming most of these are Greater scaup? The spring masses I see in the Straits of Mackinac are predominantly drakes; common with what has been reported for the broader population tend.
 
I talked to my old pal Roland Stern this morning. Roland told me that there must be 10,000 broadbill off Patchogue. East lake is covered up, Canvasbacks, whistlers,pintails, ringers and everything else you can think of. Tuttle creek in Bluepoint is loaded with buffelheads. Roland hasn't seen birds like this since we were kids. Craziest of all is, they all just showed up recently. What a crazy year. the fall migration in the mid west didn't happen till winter, a buddy of mine in Michigan called me on January 5 and while asking about my fall North Dakota season told me that the Canada geese were coming through like November. Craziest of all is that the snow geese are pouring north through North Dakota right now, a month ahead of schedule. There are rumors of a new "set" of hard clams in the Great South Bay, maybe this is what the broadbill found to eat. I sure miss that bay Rich
 
Down here on Mobile Bay, I have not seen a diver in weeks. But we still have a pile of coots and gadwalls.
 
Good morning, Rich~

I was back on LI for 3 days - but running flat out the whole time. I could peek at some of the ponds as I drove by - but no time for photography. Yesterday I took these in West Islip - though a chain link fence and brush. As you know, we tend to get these Lessers on our freshwater mill ponds - with the Greaters out on the salt water. There were about one thousand birds - with a few Redheads mixed in.


Lessers%20-%20Lake%20Capri_zpsaxb9su28.jpg



Lessers%202%20-%20Lake%20Capri_zpsvtibcz2j.jpg


All the best,

SJS
 
That pond in West Islip where you took these pics is usually LOADED all season and longer with: mallards, black ducks, gadwalls, buffleheads, red heads, now broadbill, and honkers..
 
Good morning, Rich~

Whenever I post anything on the interwebs I try to conceal exact locations....so, what you see in the background is definitely Anytown, USA.

All the best - and Happy April Fools Day!

SJS

 
Steve I just went past that lake in West Islip. It was really loaded with ducks again. Why do you think there are so many on that lake? The other lakes around don't have that many.
 
Good morning, Paul~

I do not know for sure why this pond - Lake Capri - holds so many birds - but Google Earth probably provides the answer. The air photos show extensive weed beds over most of the pond. Since Redheads and Lesser Scaup prefer leafy aquatic vegetation in their diet, I imagine it is the draw. Of course, I would love to know what species of SAV (submerged aquatic vegetation) is there - and, probably more important on suburban LI: how is the stormwater runoff managed such that SAV can thrive there?

I will on LI again this coming week, so I will have to swing by again.

All the best,

SJS
 
If you can pull a few sprigs of the SAV and get some close up pics, I can ID it for you.
 
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