Here We Go Again (22-23)

[HeadedWest]

every year for a long time ...decades...

Banded black ducks?

 

[DH13]

T

January 4th (intentionally refrained from previously mentioning all the black ducks...)

View attachment 110054

Those are Coots. Not Ducks.

 

[DH13]

When Ducks do show up here. We get several Blacks. Usually in with Mallards. Few taken around here this time.

 

[Bee]

I interpreted the question as “have you seen many black ducks taken in last ten years “

And I see black ducks taken every year.

But I have not seen banded black ducks every year. NO. In fact maybe not seen one in last two years. Can’t exactly recall last time. Friends and family with me often end up with the bands. You know how that goes 😂

What is about more rare these days
than a banded one is a PURE Blackduck. One without mallard speculum traits. Or other indicators of breeding with mallards. A speculum like this is rare indeed now.

 

[HuntressOfLight]

Those are Coots. Not Ducks.

Thanks. I did not know coots grew to be that big. I was accustomed to seeing them mixed in with mallards but not out and about to themselves.

American Coot (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

 

[HeadedWest]

Black ducks are fairly common for us so I forget that it’s not that way across the state. I should have been more clear with the question. The reason for asking was just to see what state/ area they came from. Apparently, USGS stopped publishing the data to the public in 2015.

BUT, if you were killing banded black ducks every year, that would be additional confirmation that these birds are imprinting and returning to the same areas ( as shown in the telemetry) because what are the odds of multiple banded BD in the last decade from the same group of hunters.

I’d love to have “ours” banded in February to see where they go.

 

[kyfowler1]

We kill black ducks every year as well. But more common over the last few seasons are the hybrids.

Most our bands have came from Ontario or freemont OH. One was shot this year from Wisconsin though. So we get birds from both sides depending on the weather.

 

[Meatstick]

I have 2 black duck bands over 20 years. Both were from Ontario. 2 Mallard bands also from Ontario. I've never killed a band, or seen one killed, from any further west than where I'm hunting.

 

[bigpuddin43]

Black ducks are fairly common for us so I forget that it’s not that way across the state. I should have been more clear with the question. The reason for asking was just to see what state/ area they came from. Apparently, USGS stopped publishing the data to the public in 2015.

BUT, if you were killing banded black ducks every year, that would be additional confirmation that these birds are imprinting and returning to the same areas ( as shown in the telemetry) because what are the odds of multiple banded BD in the last decade from the same group of hunters.

I’d love to have “ours” banded in February to see where they go.

no doubt most of the birds we see imprint and come back every year. we dont get the weather anymore to push the "weather" birds down this far. Ducks are going like the canada goose population. My theory has been for years much like the mallard data is showing out of west tennessee is that we have 2 kinds of birds. One when they move south move to the same area every year and stay there. the second only comes as far south as they have to. the second group rarely gets here anymore. due to warm winters and lack of snow to cover food in the fields.

we started building shallow water areas on my dads place about 6-8 years ago. we slowly started getting more and more birds. the last 3 years we have a group of birds show up every october no matter what the weather is. that group grows each year. this year we had no water so they moved on we will see if they show back up next year. if we dont take care of the calendar birds we will be in trouble in a few years unless we start getting more weather.

 

[Bee]

It is pure antecdotal but it is incredible how far back in out of the way places I see black ducks. In old strip pit ponds. In beaver ponds back up in old mining areas. Small creeks in the mountains. I used to see them a good deal in those kinds of areas when we had grouse to hunt and I was in those places in early February and earlier through the winter. Typically paired by end of january. Those areas were about as far as what most people would call “duck habitat” as imaginable.

And after the duck season driving in back country I often saw black duck pairs in wet pasture edges after a good February rain the got the creeks out a bit in to the adjoins grass lands.


There are a couple of place where I have come to find two or more black ducks just about every year. And if those are shot (at) or leave more than likely more will show up during or after the season. It one of those flooded grass areas described earlier. But Very very isolated.the most predictable is not more than a forty yard “slick” of flooded wetland grasses. And not visible from about anywhere unless you walked right in to it. I think a black duck drake will take his mate back in to those isolated places for the late winter as a means of protecting his mating choice. Similar to paired mallards but the Blackduck go in to more isolated places. JMO

 

[smashdn]

Black ducks are generally people averse anyway. Add in the desire to protect his mate and I could see it.

 

[B.M. Barrelcooker]

I saw a black duck drinkin a pina colada at trader vicks. His hair was perfect.

 

[DH13]

Living in a zone where im at. Give me 3 to 4 inches of ice on ponds. Run my ice eater. Give me a thaw and south wind.
We get birds from mostly dead north. Some of the bands we get here are Michigan and Ohio. A lot of local bands Frankfort or Bagdad. But have gotten 2 one on a Mallard Drake one on a Gadwall hen from Saskatchewan. Got one on a Mallard Drake from Delaware one on a Goose from Pennsylvania.

 

[Bee]

I saw a black duck drinkin a pina colada at trader vicks. His hair was perfect.

All of the ones at Trader Vic’s are banded I heard. Mostly from Detroit.

 

[Bowfinger]

I just emerged from my teepee to find the white man speaking of black ducks! Even my ugly geese are offended! Going back to teepee once I find my lighter and make grilled cheese sandwiches.

Send lighter!