Rare Species?

[OKHunter03]

Hey guys, was wondering if anyone has ever harvested a "Tufted Duck"? I haven't gotten a chance to get a good picture on my computer after I got home last night to post but I will when I get home from work. Im sure that would help more. His tuft on his head was not as pronounced as this image but it was apparent when you held him up. At first we thought it just may be a really mature Bluebill, next we thought it may be a hybrid of a scaup/blackjack. Per wikipedia, they do winter on the coast of the US and Canada from time to time but nest in places like Eurasia, Phillipines, and Saudi Arabia. Mine was shot on the Big C in the Mattawa area when he came screaming in to the dekes with a flock of Scaup. Actually had a nice double with him and a big mature greater BB. Just thought it was kind of a cool/odd thing. Any thoughts or run ins with these guys?

[cryfowl]

Seen a couple in all my years, but have never harvested one.  Trophy for sure.

[Tom Reichner]

Mine was shot on the Big C in the Mattawa area when he came screaming in to the dekes with a flock of Scaup. Actually had a nice double with him and a big mature greater BB. Just thought it was kind of a cool/odd thing. 

Congratulations!   It's awesome that you were able to bag one of these!

   Any thoughts or run ins with these guys?

I have never even seen one, despite spending a lot of time photographing waterfowl each year in WA, OR, and CA.

  His tuft on his head was not as pronounced as this image but it was apparent when you held him up.

Do you think it may be a Tufted Duck / Ringneck Duck hybrid?

[OKHunter03]

I will post a picture when I get home from work. I feel I have a pretty good grasp on waterfowl ID but really have no clue on this one. In my opinion with pictures online, its a tufted. Just having little experience with them, my hunting buddy and I were throwing around ideas of what it could have been while we were out in the blind before we could look him up. Unfortunately, I hammered him pretty good with a head shot and there is no way to really preserve him for a mount. My first thought was a really mature lesser scaup. Then we put it next to a drake scaup and drake ringer to compare. Thats where we thought of a cross. The nail on the front of the bill said no way for the BB, and it doesnt have the white markings as the ringneck has. Either way I'm super excited and is just one of the reasons I love chasing birds around. You just never know what you will stumble across and get to experience in nature. Ill be sure to put up a picture ASAP.

[OKHunter03]

So I was able to run home for some lunch and get some pictures. I wiped the feathers as best I could of any blood, dog slobber and river mud.

[kodiak 907]

Looks like a tufted to me. Awesome bird! Too bad you're not going to get him mounted.

[OKHunter03]

Ahhhhhh! I know! I might put him in the freezer and take it to my taxi just to see if he is too far gone. The more I have researched today, the cooler it has become to me. It does seem like everything points to a drake tufted. Per one website, there has been 10 recorded east of the cascades since 1986. 10! Pretty incredible. Bagged my first canvasback DRAKE this year as well after multiple seasons of hard scouting in the months of December and January to specifically bag one. Feeling pretty fortunate this year. I didn't take pics of the damage done but what do you guys think about the mount? The biggest thing was one BB went through the top of his bill and out the lower and a few to the dome as well.

[kodiak 907]

Looks like it is in fine shape to have mounted. A good taxi could have that thing looking like it's alive again. 

Clean it up and freeze it. Post pics when you get the mount back.

[OKHunter03]

Thanks! That is the same decision I have come up with as well. I'm thinking about adding that with my canvasback to an existing mount of a redhead I have on my wall. Any suggestions on how much I should clean it up before I freeze it? With the pictures shown, obviously I wasn't too careful about treating it right when I harvested it. Really bums me out I didn't think to look up the information on this species right when it was retrieved. I even keep a grocery bag or two in my pack for garbage clean up and that "just in case I get a mounter" situation. I have since shared all of this recent research with my hunting partners and excitement is and understatement.

[wadu1]

I always carry a knee high nylon socking just encase I get something cool like that bird.

[270Shooter]

That is just an incredible bird to shoot on the columbia. I think it is still mountable. A good taxi can clean them up really well.

[metlhead]

Many of those fell to the M249 some years back on a northern Iraq lake. Oh how I would love to go back and hunt. Congratulations, I would say rare indeed, for this side of the planet. Now let's see those gargeny and smew.

[GrampasGuns]

Dude.....I'm speechless now having seen the photos. That's cooler than a band in my book!!

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[ATM green head machine]

Ahhhhhh! I know! I might put him in the freezer and take it to my taxi just to see if he is too far gone. The more I have researched today, the cooler it has become to me. It does seem like everything points to a drake tufted. Per one website, there has been 10 recorded east of the cascades since 1986. 10! Pretty incredible. Bagged my first canvasback DRAKE this year as well after multiple seasons of hard scouting in the months of December and January to specifically bag one. Feeling pretty fortunate this year. I didn't take pics of the damage done but what do you guys think about the mount? The biggest thing was one BB went through the top of his bill and out the lower and a few to the dome as well.

they use a artificial head and bill so your all good.

[OKHunter03]

Thanks everyone! I have been having serious problems trying to focus at work today. Feels like I hit that powerball winner! Like I said earlier, I wish I would have looked into all this right away. Not only to preserve the bird better but to fully understand what happened and enjoy that moment with my best friends in the world while IN the blind. As a back story, it was a flock of 6-8 bluebill that bombed in to the decoys, I managed a double (one being this guy) and my buddy knocked one down too. On top of that, my dog made a hell of a nice retrieve on all of them, one of them being about 100 yard retrieve on a cripple that caught the current and was on his way at a good clip. Fortunately, along with that memory will be a great mount to have on my wall in the future. It has been a great season so far with plenty of "firsts" for me with this guy, a bull can, my first goose limit, multiple pheasant limits in a season and I am on pace to break my record of last year of days spent in the field. I'm not a big numbers guy (although I prefer to pull the trigger then not) but I am big on setting goals with my hunting seasons. Even after 21 years of toting a shotgun around from September to January, things like this somehow still manage to raise the level of passion I have for this sport. Thanks for letting me share it with you guys as I have exhausted the amount of people in my phone to share this with!

[kodiak 907]

Nicely done sir! Remember to post pics of the finished product.

[Tom Reichner]

Unfortunately, I hammered him pretty good with a head shot and there is no way to really preserve him for a mount. 

Looks like a tufted to me. Awesome bird! Too bad you're not going to get him mounted.

  The biggest thing was one BB went through the top of his bill and out the lower and a few to the dome as well.

Ahhhhhh! I know! I might put him in the freezer and take it to my taxi just to see if he is too far gone.  I didn't take pics of the damage done but what do you guys think about the mount? 

I suggest that you take him to Stefan Savides in Klamath Falls:
http://www.ezpics.com/savides2/About/go

Stefan is generally recognized as the best bird taxidermist / avian artist in the world today.  He will not only give you a very realistic assessment of your bird's condition, but provide you with a true world-class mount, as well.  All at about the same price that any "regular" taxidermist would charge.
 

[OKHunter03]

Hey Tom- I tried about every link on that site for Savides and it was all bronze or sculptures. I'm sure being the personal taxi for Cabelas, he puts out nothing short of amazing work. I have a friend that I'm probably going to use, but I have looked in to others around with good reps as well. Because although any bird I have saved has been special to me, this is something I will never shoot again. Would hate to get back anything sub par with no chance for redemption. Thanks again for all the interest and info though dudes! The excitement has calmed down a little as of this morning. Back to work I guess.

[EWUeagles]

I have a friend that I'm probably going to use.

Man that line really scares me. I sure hope your friend is an amazing WATERFOWL taxidermist. I see a lot of people post pictures of birds done by very good taxidermist but they are good at big game. It takes special talent to capture waterfowl. Little rant over.

I want to say congrats and that is an amazing trophy. I didn't even realize we had them in the US! I can't wait to see the finished bird.

[OKHunter03]

I have a friend that I'm probably going to use.

Man that line really scares me. I sure hope your friend is an amazing WATERFOWL taxidermist. I see a lot of people post pictures of birds done by very good taxidermist but they are good at big game. It takes special talent to capture waterfowl. Little rant over.

I want to say congrats and that is an amazing trophy. I didn't even realize we had them in the US! I can't wait to see the finished bird.

Man, I know. I will give it some serious thought. He has done work for me, my brother, and multiple friends. He is a great dude and good to work with and I was pleased with everything I have seen so far. BUT..... I totally understand the rare chance to ever see let alone harvest another one of these deserves to be displayed in the best possible way.

[Tom Reichner]

I have a friend that I'm probably going to use.

Man that line really scares me. I sure hope your friend is an amazing WATERFOWL taxidermist. I see a lot of people post pictures of birds done by very good taxidermist but they are good at big game. It takes special talent to capture waterfowl. Little rant over.

EWUeagles raises a very valid concern.  I once had a beautiful, late season Wood Duck drake and a fully mature Bufflehead drake.  Both were in peak, late-winter plumage.  I went to a sportsman's show to pick a taxidermist.  There were over 100 full time taxidermists at the show.  One guy's work really stood out from the rest, so I chose him.   

Months later, when I went to pick up the birds, I was shocked!  The workmanship was very average.  The birds looked like.....well, they looked like mounted birds, not like live birds.  They looked like what you usually see hanging on the wall in a hunting lodge, not like the work of a world-class artisan.  I came to learn that this taxidermist did not even mount them himself, but rather "farmed them out".  Then I learned that many, if not most, taxidermists farm out their bird work, via the mail, to big production-line places that have "Joe taxidermists" cranking out bird mounts on a piece-work basis.  This is common practice.

You really not only need someone who does their own bird work, but you need a taxidermist who specializes in birds.  Let's face it; if someone spends 60, 70, or 80 percent of their time mounting big game heads, how can they possibly do truly world-class work on a duck?

[EWUeagles]

I think Leon Matthews at of Tri Cities does some really nice work. That being said I would seriously hit google and look at Birdman Studios or Shane Smith Taxidermy. I know it's going to cost a little extra but how often are you going to shoot a bird similar to that again? If I ever shot a once in a lifetime birds that's where I would ship it off to.

[Tealer]

Leon is more then capable of turning that bird into a trophy that's a joy to look at for years to come.


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[WCTaxidermy]

Ok hunter if that is truly a tufted duck what a trophy!!!!! Don't worry about cleaning him up, get that bird wrapped tightly in a plastic bag and then double wrap it again and get him in the freezer.  A good bird taxi will be able to clean him up nicely for you.  Congrats on harvesting a rare bird for this area, and most importantly, you shot him in the time of year that he is fully plumed out! Great job!