Big Northern Mallard

[buman31]

I was thinking the same thing KwackWacker, left over face paint from the morning duck hunt.  I don't even know why I do that, more for fun I gues than anything!!!!  Where ever that bird is from, it sure made a killer stir fry.  It was some of the best duck I have had!!! 

[halflife65]

yes that is true. no lead with you when u r waterfowl hunting. lead cannot be used on waterfowl. but a lot of guys just use steel or steel sub, when upland hunting anymore. i have just used steel loads for like the last 5-6 years for my upland hunting. just bought my first box of lead for a up coming pheasant hunt. since we will just be hunting pheasnts in that area. i figured i would use the lead stuff 

   When I know that there is even the remotest possibility that I'll jump ducks I hunt with steel shot.  Not the best stuff but it works - especially if you're using 3 inch mags.  Kind of sucks for quail, though.  Gets expensive in a hurry if you're not careful.

[CountryslickR]

Alot of state land come Jan 1st will require steel or non-toxic shot all the time.........

[KwackWacker]

I hunt phez with Kent #4's exclusivly....I like the way they shoot...In my experience with em it kills em just as dead as lead 6's....havent shot a phez with lead for 5 years or so

[Ceddy50]

wow what a lot of negative nancy's commenting here, the guy was just trying show you his prize!!!!

[buman31]

Thanks Ceddy50.  Although with some folks have said I certainly could be wrong in my evaluation of where some random duck is from  .

[teal101]

ducksdoom,

That is a common misperception in regards to "big northern ducks with red legs".  In fact it is just the opposite of what you have always heard.  When the northerns first arrive, they are worn down and have used a lot of their stored fat reserves to make their journey along with fighting the winter conditions way up north.  They're not sitting around, eating grain and enjoying an indian summer.  Once they arrive they begin to hit the corn fields and will fatten up again fairly quick.

As for the red legs, it's not from swimming in the cold water or standing on ice.  It's a change in their hormones as their bodies change in preparation of the upcoming breeding season. 

The keys I use to figuring out if the "northerns" are in is to watch the local corn fields around dusk and look for duck swarms.  Or shoot a duck that was banded somewhere north of you this summer!

Spot on.  Numbers is the general key to knowing when the northerns are down.  When the swarms start to hit the refuges and corn they are coming in.

I also shoot steel 100% in the Basin now, only way to go.

Great bird

[General Disarray]

wow what a lot of negative nancy's commenting here, the guy was just trying show you his prize!!!!

More like some of us just trying to help others learn a little more than they thought they knew.  There's enough misinformation on the forum to begin with, might as step up and say something before a moderator chimes in with his opinion, which right or wrong, is as good as the Word around here.

[carpsniperg2]

  thats funny General Disarray

[goober]

if they're big mallards, they've probably been here all summer.  Northerns show up skinny and won't fill out for a couple of weeks after they arrive.

I love the "experts" that make this claim. So why are they skinny...because they've been migrating? Migrating birds usually only fly a few hundred miles with each hop and do that in a day. How is this different than flying around an area all day long to get out of the weather? Not to mention that they've been stuffing themselves on all that grain up North on the way down.

[CountryslickR]

if they're big mallards, they've probably been here all summer.  Northerns show up skinny and won't fill out for a couple of weeks after they arrive.

I love the "experts" that make this claim. So why are they skinny...because they've been migrating? Migrating birds usually only fly a few hundred miles with each hop and do that in a day. How is this different than flying around an area all day long to get out of the weather? Not to mention that they've been stuffing themselves on all that grain up North on the way down.

[teal101]

if they're big mallards, they've probably been here all summer.  Northerns show up skinny and won't fill out for a couple of weeks after they arrive.

I love the "experts" that make this claim. So why are they skinny...because they've been migrating? Migrating birds usually only fly a few hundred miles with each hop and do that in a day. How is this different than flying around an area all day long to get out of the weather? Not to mention that they've been stuffing themselves on all that grain up North on the way down.

Birds gorge themselves up north before leaving to create fat stores to supplement them during migration.  Birds don't always end up migrating to another prime grain patch to keep the fat reserves up.  They lose weight on the way down as a result.  Migrating birds usually fly at night at high altitudes at an average pace of 50-60mph.  They use a lot of energy doing this.

Fat birds are generally locals or migrators that have been here awhile.

I've observed this trend for years.  The birds I'm taking now and have been taking all season have a nice thick layer of fat.  When we start to see the large pods of divers hit the area they;re skinny as hell with little to no fat.  Give them a few weeks and you'll notice the fat amount increases. Same with mallards in the corn.

[WSU]

if they're big mallards, they've probably been here all summer.  Northerns show up skinny and won't fill out for a couple of weeks after they arrive.

I love the "experts" that make this claim. So why are they skinny...because they've been migrating? Migrating birds usually only fly a few hundred miles with each hop and do that in a day. How is this different than flying around an area all day long to get out of the weather? Not to mention that they've been stuffing themselves on all that grain up North on the way down.

Birds gorge themselves up north before leaving to create fat stores to supplement them during migration.  Birds don't always end up migrating to another prime grain patch to keep the fat reserves up.  They lose weight on the way down as a result.  Migrating birds usually fly at night at high altitudes at an average pace of 50-60mph.  They use a lot of energy doing this.

Fat birds are generally locals or migrators that have been here awhile.

I've observed this trend for years.  The birds I'm taking now and have been taking all season have a nice thick layer of fat.  When we start to see the large pods of divers hit the area they;re skinny as hell with little to no fat.  Give them a few weeks and you'll notice the fat amount increases. Same with mallards in the corn.

I will solve the riddle saturday!  My go-to spot has not yet had large amounts of ducks show up.  Therefore, if I shoot lots of ducks and they are fat, northerns are fat.  If I shoot lots of ducks and they are skinny, northers are skinny.  Stay tuned for late morning saturday for the answer we all seek....

[Wacenturion]

if they're big mallards, they've probably been here all summer.  Northerns show up skinny and won't fill out for a couple of weeks after they arrive.

I love the "experts" that make this claim. So why are they skinny...because they've been migrating? Migrating birds usually only fly a few hundred miles with each hop and do that in a day. How is this different than flying around an area all day long to get out of the weather? Not to mention that they've been stuffing themselves on all that grain up North on the way down.

Birds gorge themselves up north before leaving to create fat stores to supplement them during migration.  Birds don't always end up migrating to another prime grain patch to keep the fat reserves up.  They lose weight on the way down as a result.  Migrating birds usually fly at night at high altitudes at an average pace of 50-60mph.  They use a lot of energy doing this.

Fat birds are generally locals or migrators that have been here awhile.

I've observed this trend for years.  The birds I'm taking now and have been taking all season have a nice thick layer of fat.  When we start to see the large pods of divers hit the area they;re skinny as hell with little to no fat.  Give them a few weeks and you'll notice the fat amount increases. Same with mallards in the corn.

Pretty much agree....might add metabolism is higher and fat reserves are used up much quicker in colder areas north of us like BC/Alberta in Oct/ Nov., than in moderate ones like the basin in Oct/Nov.  That's the reason you obviously see huge feeding flights in the basin going out at night, rather than during daylight hours in the Basin.  

Later when temperatures remain low and ice and snow is present, they feed continually all day, sometimes not returning to the reservoir, lakes or rivers , but rather using loafing areas away from the pressure in corn fields.  They have no choice, they have to feed, and saving energy is paramount.  So many times they don't return to water after being harassed.   It's called survival.In summary local birds again do tend to be larger weight wise, northerns tend to be lighter or skinner if you prefer, until they have been in the area and feeding for awhile.  

Comments made by Disarray and Teal101 may indeed be what I consider "expert" in nature as some have alluded to in a negative way.  They are not wishful thinking or speculation.  This board has a lot of expertise and years of experience on it.  I might suggest that we don't always rush to foo foo someone for trying to educate others, and share their knowledge, even if just trying to clarify something like in this thread.  

[teal101]

if they're big mallards, they've probably been here all summer.  Northerns show up skinny and won't fill out for a couple of weeks after they arrive.

I love the "experts" that make this claim. So why are they skinny...because they've been migrating? Migrating birds usually only fly a few hundred miles with each hop and do that in a day. How is this different than flying around an area all day long to get out of the weather? Not to mention that they've been stuffing themselves on all that grain up North on the way down.

Birds gorge themselves up north before leaving to create fat stores to supplement them during migration.  Birds don't always end up migrating to another prime grain patch to keep the fat reserves up.  They lose weight on the way down as a result.  Migrating birds usually fly at night at high altitudes at an average pace of 50-60mph.  They use a lot of energy doing this.

Fat birds are generally locals or migrators that have been here awhile.

I've observed this trend for years.  The birds I'm taking now and have been taking all season have a nice thick layer of fat.  When we start to see the large pods of divers hit the area they;re skinny as hell with little to no fat.  Give them a few weeks and you'll notice the fat amount increases. Same with mallards in the corn.

Pretty much agree....might add metabolism is higher and fat reserves are used up much quicker in colder areas north of us like BC/Alberta in Oct/ Nov., than in moderate ones like the basin in Oct/Nov.  That's the reason you obviously see huge feeding flights in the basin going out at night, rather than during daylight hours in the Basin.  

Later when temperatures remain low and ice and snow is present, they feed continually all day, sometimes not returning to the reservoir, lakes or rivers , but rather using loafing areas away from the pressure in corn fields.  They have no choice, they have to feed, and saving energy is paramount.  So many times they don't return to water after being harassed.   It's called survival.In summary local birds again do tend to be larger weight wise, northerns tend to be lighter or skinner if you prefer, until they have been in the area and feeding for awhile.  

Comments made by Disarray and Teal101 may indeed be what I consider "expert" in nature as some have alluded to in a negative way.  They are not wishful thinking or speculation.  This board has a lot of expertise and years of experience on it.  I might suggest that we don't always rush to foo foo someone for trying to educate others, and share their knowledge, even if just trying to clarify something like in this thread.  

Well said.  I like how you brought up the feeding times dependent on temperature and such.  That is 100% spot on.  Last year with the mild weather we had in January we had birds slamming our corn fields, at 4:45pm every night.  No point in them leaving the water during the day when they can feed and be warm at night.  The year before when it stayed cold (in the teens) most of January the birds hit the corn like clockwork every day at 11:00am and we slaughtered them.  They would hop from field to field if disturbed and stay in the fields till dark then rise and leave.

I'm no expert, hell I'm only 21 years old, but waterfowling is my passion and I've got 10 years under my belt of learning.  And like you said we're not trying to be "right or wrong" here, we're just trying to clear up speculation.  This seems to be brought up every year and it's always good to educate people instead of spreading false information.