What is on your gamestrap?

Gary Lee

Gary Lee

Active member
I find it interesting to hear what types of waterfowl people harvest in the different parts of the country. What is common in one area is almost unheard of in others. For example I have yet to shoot a Wigeon here in my part of the state, but go to the west of here in the same state and they are fairly common. While I was out in Colorado it was the main duck that I saw, and even had the chance to have them feed out of my hand which I thought was a highlight of the trip. While in TX I saw a good amount of them but not what I expected. If I would have been closer to the coast I'm sure that would have been different. In Arkansas I see plenty of them and to my amazement see more Pintails than I do Mallards, which is awesome in my eyes, as Pintails are very rare here and are one of my favorite species of ducks. Just to see them, watch their graceful flight, and get to work flocks into the decoys is well worth the trips. I have seen huge flocks of Ringnecks in western TN., where as I rarely see them here in any numbers at all. Just a few examples of how much the different areas of the country differ in the common species. So lets hear/see what is common for you to see/harvest in your areas of the country.
 
I sometimes hunt alone but often with one other person. I will summarize based on the party bag rather than just mine. This past season we harvested the following birds

Canada Goose
mallard
green wing teal
gadwall
wood duck
american black duck
ring-necked duck
lesser scaup
greater scaup
redhead
canvasback
bufflehead
ruddy duck
 
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I live in the Finger Lakes region of NY which is a great spot for duck hunting. During the early season we shoot mostly geese, mallards, wood duck and teal. Then during the late season we get the divers which include bluebills, redheads, bufflehead, goldeneye, all the different types of mergansers, mallards and black ducks. Occasionally we get a widgeon. Within an hour of here there are certain spots that have good flights of pintails , snow geese and canvasbacks. If I go 10 miles north to the big lake, Lake Ontario, we can shoot scoter and oldsquaw along with most of the other ones I mentioned. We don't always have the huge numbers of ducks that other parts of the country get but we sure do have variety.
 
The most common puddlers around here are mallards and wooducks. We do see a fair amount of blacks late season. Some teal early season but nothing to brag about. Gadwall are not common but we see a few here and there. Wigeon aren't very common at all, but we have taken a couple. Pintails are pretty few and far between. I got a shot at my very first shovler this year and missed, first one I ever seen hunting.

The main divers on the local lake seem to be ringers and ruddies early in the year but they know where the no hunting zones are and don't come away from them real often. We get a few bluebills but for the most part you need to head to lake erie for any numbers. Cans and redheads are rare. Goldeneyes are here in good numbers every year, usually the week after the season ends. Buffies are pretty common and have saved many otherwise duckless days.

Geese are thick, but so are goose hunters.

See lots of hooded lawndarts all season long.
 
I am very lucky. The beginning of my season (Sept. 1) I start of on the AK Peninsula with Cackling Geese, Pacific Brant, Sandhill Crane, Mallards, Pintail, Widgeon, G.W. Teal, Gadwall, and Willow Ptarmigan.
November, I'm back home in N.E. New York shooting mostly Mallards and Blacks with a few late Teal and Wood Ducks thanks to climate change. Also Canadas and Snow Geese are taken. Ruffed Grouse also.
Dec. and Jan. I usually travel south a bit for all three Scoter, Eider and Oldsquaw with some coastal Blacks, Mallards, Gadwall, and Widgeon if I'm lucky. Canada Geese too.
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This may be more than you're interested in, but here is my group's (5 guys) total for the last 4 years. The numbers have declined for 4 years in a row, but particularly this past year. The total column is the # of ducks (duh) for the year, but without 2009, those kinds of swings would not be unusual. But when the teal aren't there, it's pretty easy to see what happens to the total. I hunt in South Jersey, somewhere between the Delaware Memorial bridge and Cape May-that's about 50 miles so I didn't give away anyone's secret spot. Different marshes can hold different birds, and there are area's where there are more big ducks than where I hunt. Another thing is, when hunting is lousy, like this year, you end up not going as much, particularly as a group, so you get less ducks anyway, and you don't tend to stay out as long when you do go, so that does have some bearing.


2006 2007 2008 2009
gwt 132 104 96 33
black 28 23 23 17
pintail 11 11 2 2
mallard 5 9 4 4
bufflehead 3 1 0 1
gadwall 1 6 2 4
Scoter 1
shoveler 1 1
wigeon 1 0 0 1
goldeneye 1

181 155 127 62
 
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Out here in utah we pretty much get a good variety of just about everything, but I can usually expect the following ducks in the bag:

Pintails
Widgeon
Mallard
Gadwall
Teal
Spoonies

Pintails were in really thick this year, I shot my two sprig almost every time out and then it was just sitting and waiting for the other birds to fly. Mallards were also fairly numerous this year. Common goldeneyes are a sure thing in the late season, if you know what you are doing its not to hard to come out of the field with an all drake limit of 7 birds. As a bonus we also get a pretty strong migration of tundra swans, if you are lucky enough to draw a tag its a fun hunt. Divers can be pretty good if you know were to go, plus there is always the chance a few stragglers will swing through your puddler rig.
 
Thanks for the replies guys!

Here in my area it seems as though the majority of the BW Teal have a southern migration route that detours around this area, or I have yet to find good BW Teal spots. I do shoot some on occasion if I choose to hunt them during the Sept. season but in no numbers. GW Teal are much more common and will shoot them from Sept. all the way up til the closing of season at times. Wood Ducks are common here and on occasion I'll set up for them. Which from what I have seen you have to really be on top of them. Unlike other ducks they just don't seem to respond well to decoys and calls, at least to warrant setting up on them other than being in areas you know they are feeding in or resting. Meaning that I have yet to pull them like other ducks. Most of the Woodies have bugged out before Christmas but I have taken some late in the season on rare occasions. Mallards are the main ducks for this area and I hunt them over land and water and although I like watching the birds work calls and decoys I wish we would get a greater mix of birds (in numbers). Mallards are here all season long and at times if it weren't for them there would be no shooting at all. Blacks are next on the list and are common, as well as Mallard/Black Hybrids. They are here mainly after the cold sets in but have shot them during the early Oct. season all the way up to the closing. Although they aren't colorful they are very pretty birds and I enjoy seeing them. Greater Canadas can arrive here in what I consider large numbers and no matter what the weather is like shooting can be done all season long. Mixed with the Greaters there will be a few Lessers, and in lower numbers Snows, Blues, and even Ross' geese. I have seen very small Canadas in flocks but I have never harvested any of them. I suspect these would be Richardsons' but I'm not sure. Some years Gadwalls will show up in decent numbers and when they do they are a treat to have around, as they provide some interesting gunning and I love hearing their calls as the start to make their approach to the decoys. Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, and Common Mergansers are fairly common but I know of only a few areas where they are in numbers worth going after. Until all the areas start to freeze up and they move to the main river, or bug out all together, which is a common occurrence. Ruddy Ducks, Ringnecks, Common Goldeneyes, and Shovelers show up at times but again in no numbers most seasons. But at times I have seen them fairly thick and enjoy them when they do show up. Pintails, Canvasbacks, Redheads, Greater Scaup, and Lesser Scaup are hit or miss, and are for the most part very rare for this area, and when they do show up it is a big deal and word spreads fast thoughout the hunting community here. As mentioned before I have yet to harvest a Wigeon here, but I have seen some during season on refuges, they are one of my favorite ducks and really enjoy seeing them. MY first season I lucked out and got to harvest a drake Surf Scoter that came into the decoys with a hen. That same season I saw a small flock of Old Squaw a few times on the main river but didn't get a crack at them, but was a real treat just seeing them at a distance. I have also seen White-Winged Scoters here a few different times, most of those being immatures and lost I'm sure. My older brother and myself harvested a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers a few years ago late in the season, those being the only two I have ID'd for sure. So all in all a good mix of birds, but in no numbers.
 
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Here are a couple shots on some private land I have permission for. The first is of opening day of the September Goose Season. We had Woodies dumping into the hole all morning long. The second is prior to the opening during a scouting trip and the reason we were where we were on the opener. There is another pond just over the hill. Hard telling what was sitting on that pond, I didn't go glass the area as I saw what I needed to see already.

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Which area is your area?

It makes the information more interesting...you could just finish completing your profile.
 
One of my observations that I have made by just watching is the wood duck population. I remember whhen you might as well shoot a bald eagle as a wood duck and now woodies and mallards make up most of the seasons harvest. Geese are another similar story, and wild turkeys. I do remember when Minn closed the deer season due to low numbers and now in some areas we can take almost unlimited numbers of antlerless. I realize this is not what you asked , it just fired some memories.
 
I hunt North Dakota and the chesapeake and outside scoter and old squaw in ND and eiders, harliqian and some of the regional ducks in both places you can pretty much see anything you want within a short drive in both places. I don't shoot buffleheads, mergies and on rare occasion will hunt sea ducks, everything else is fair game. Its a bit different in ND where I try not to shoot many teal or gadwalls as they would take up the bag limit pretty fast, and frankly I don't care if I get a limit just shoot the species I like to eat.
 
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While duck hunting in New Mexico these are the birds that I took in order of abundance---greatest to least.
Mallards
Gadwalls
Baldpates
Bluewing teal
Greenwing teal
Wood ducks
Mexican ducks
Spoonbills
Ringnecks
Cinnamon teal
Buffleheads
Mallards made up over a third of all ducks on the strap.
Al
 
Gadwalls are our number 1 puddle duck. We also get lots of woodies up in the flooded timber but I dont target them much.
After that, teal & spoonies are normally our second highest numbers of puddlers.
Then its a smattering of wigeon & pintails, some very wary mottled ducks and a stray mallard or two.

For divers, bluebills and buffies are the highest numbers, then redheads and cans.
Some years we see few if any cans, other years they are relatively plentiful.
The last 4 years I have taken zero cans, in 004-05 season, I took 7. Before that, never more than 3 in any one season.

Also, some years we have tons of ringnecks, other years barely any.
Very few GEs and I've seen 4 seaducks since I have been down here and I have not killed a single one.

Very few geese other than the local giant Canadas that are starting to build up.

Coastal hunting is great for variety in the good years. W have one spot where over the years, we have killed 17 different species, 13 in one season:
Gadwall, mallards, black duck (1), mottled ducks, GW teal, BW teal, woodie (1), spoonies, wigeon, pintails, bluebills, ringnecks, redheads, cans, buffies, white-winged scoter (1), canada goose (1).
It hasnt been like this in years, but when we get the birds, it real mixed bag.
 
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