Wow, you really did shoot him in the face. We had a teal that ended up with a nasty headshot last weekend, but not near as bad as that.
As for the northern vs non northern debate, who cares he shot a bird in a place where there haven't been any. I usually like to guage new birds by how they react to calling, shooting, etc. My partner said they had huge groups of mallards circling today, and small groups would break off, they'd shoot, then more would drop in. If they're dumb, they're dead. I'm guessing these aren't the same birds that people have been shooting at for months. Not to mention, it's pretty typical to get new birds a few days before we expect a winter storm like the one headed our way.
Congrats man.
