Pass Along RJ
May 08

On the Wing
The importance of identifying birds before pulling the trigger.
by Jason Smith; Illustrations by Chris Smith, from A Field Guide to Upland Birds and Waterfowl

Wigeon: White on leading edge of wing -- corresponds to the "w" farther ahead in the duck's name.

ales abound of the accidental duck. A hunter unloads his gun into a flock of supposed ringnecks only to find out he killed three redheads when the limit was two. With a hen mallard already in the bag, another waterfowler drops a lone suzie in low-light conditions, thinking it looked awfully dark and was probably a black duck. The sport of waterfowling is no different from anything else: Accidents happen. Your retriever will accidentally swipe another dog's retrieve; you'll accidentally set up too close to another hunting party; and everyone of us will, at some point or another, inadvertently shoot a mistake duck.

But just as with all accidents, misidentification can be virtually eliminated with practice and a commitment to doing it right. We can make sure to perform techniques that allow proper identification, take part in ID workshops, learn what to look for on a flying duck, and be sure to pass on our knowledge to youngsters. Again, accidents will still occur; we'll swear to the waterfowling gods that our dog somehow brought back a hen mallard instead of the black duck we know we crumpled. But the accidents caused by uncertainty don't have to happen if we make a concerted effort to know our targets before pulling the trigger.  

Field Marks

I'm not going to outline each duck species' identifying marks and characteristics, but there are a handful of birds that have a tell-tale clue, revealing their identity in a clear, concise instant. If we know what to look for and where, we'll know if it's a wigeon or a gadwall, a lesser or a greater scaup, or hen mallard or a hen shoveler that's pitching in. Aside from the obvious color and physical markings -- green head or long tail or a goofy-looking bill -- there are subtler clues to a duck's identity that, once we become proficient at noticing, will stand out like beacons.

Two ducks that are readily confused in flight are wigeon and gadwalls. Unless the bird is a fully colored drake of either species, they can be hard to pick out while in flight, and I have even found wigeon and gadwalls in the same flock. Both birds share an obvious white wing patch, the only two North American dabblers with a significant amount of white on the wing. On wigeon, the white patch is located toward the leading edge or front of the wing; in gadwalls, the white is on the trailing edge. The simple way to remember this is that the "w" in wigeon is farther ahead in the name than the "w" in gadwall, hence the white patch is farther ahead on the wing. The white patch on both birds is fairly clear in flight.

Lesser and greater scaup can be distinguished on the wing -- with practice -- by the amount of white on the wing as well. The greater scaup has white extending up into the primaries, while the white on lesser scaup is confined to the speculum. The white on the primaries will show like strobe flashes in flight and can be easily spotted once we know what to look for and where.

Hen mallards from black ducks? Look for the overall darker shade of the black duck, and the silver underside of a black's wings will contrast sharply with the rest of the body. The contrast in hen mallards is not so obvious; however, just let the birds get a touch closer if you're unsure -- in most places, only one of each can be harvested, if you choose to shoot a hen mallard at all, and many don't.

The best way to learn the recognizable marks on ducks is to get a good identification book or attend a workshop that may be presented in the off season. Better yet, get a good pair of binoculars and a field guide, venture out in the spring, and learn for yourself.

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