What makes a trophy duck

Ecology: Blue-winged Teal are long-distance migrants, with some birds heading all the way to South America for the winter. Compact, distinctive peaked head. Rises easily from water; flight erratic and twisting. Ecology: Quite reclusive, preferring to breed and reside in wooded swamps and marshes that are difficult to get to. The faint brown ring around the neck is not obvious. Increasing as a breeding species in the Northeast.

Ring-necked Duck Photo: Tom Reichner. Very difficult to discern between greater scaup and lesser scaup in field. Lesser has a taller, narrower head with narrower, straight-sided bill. Prefers sheltered ponds and bays. Hunting notes: A true diver duck, scaup raft in large flocks during migration. Fast flying, these are tough birds to shoot. Anyone can shoot a couple of mallards in a day, but it takes some scouting and studying of the divers to understand their behavior patterns, and where you need to be set up to even have a chance of seeing them.

Ecology: In many places lesser scaup populations are declining, though both species are increasing in Vermont due to the proliferation of zebra mussels, which they eat. Lesser Scaup Photo: Tom Reichner.

Smallest merganser; long bodied, long tailed, unique hammerhead crest. Wings produce high, cricket-like trill in flight. Prefer small, often wooded ponds. Hunting notes: Fun to watch, especially when they work in pairs to hunt baitfish.

Mergansers are lousy tasting fishy ; even a dog turns her nose up at a merganser breast from the grill. Ecology: A very attractive bird. Its feet are far back on the body, making it a lousy walker but a terrific swimmer.

Hooded mergansers are cavity nesters and will readily use nest boxes. Hooded Merganser Photo: Tom Reichner. Much larger than hooded. Prefers deep, clear lakes and rivers.

Hunting notes: This one is easy to see in the spring because the male Common Merganser shows more white plumage than just about any other duck. Eats mostly fish and will be found on any water body with open water and fish. Terrible tasting. Ecology: Common mergansers frequently congregate around the ice edge as large lakes begin to freeze. In summer, they breed in rivers and small ponds, either in cavities or on the ground at the base of hollow trees.

A trio of ducks running down the river from the north hooked around the point and came our way. Just a straight flight path followed up with locked wings as if they were passenger jets approaching an airport.

I picked out the lead drake and dropped him. Then… I just watched. Flying with these two mallard drakes was the only pintail I have ever seen in Northern Wisconsin. A magazine cover sprig. A wall mounting sprig.

But pintail season closed in Wisconsin weeks earlier. The only thing I could do was watch. There are duck hunters in some states that find pintails as ordinary as apple pie. A friend of mine who hunts in California, shoots one nearly every day he is in the blind. But I look forward to the day I see another pintail like that one. His silhouette against the snowy bluffs of the Chippewa River stand out in my mind.

November 13, To have a world class mount, hunters need to take care of their birds all the way to the taxidermist. Sign Up Now. Ducks November Southeast LA.

Previous Seven keys to duck hunting success. October 22, John Felsher Features , Redfish. Bass Fishing. The mallard Anas platyrhynchos is a medium to large sized dabbling duck with a hefty body, rounded head, and wide flat bill. Males have a dark, iridescent-green head and bright yellow bill, an instantly identifiable trait. Females, on the other hand, are mottled brown and possess orange-brown bills. As to dabbling ducks, mallards feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on a highly diverse diet of underwater prey and plants.

Due to their peculiar feeding habits, they tend to be able to occupy almost any wetland habitat. They are notoriously widespread and can be found on lakes, ponds, marshes, rivers and coastal habitats.