# Black Ducks



## the Bender (Mar 31, 2005)

Anybody shoot Blacks in Nodak. I have a buddy who swears he shot them for a weekend last season. Just curious if anyone sees or shoots them often.


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## bigblackfoot (Mar 12, 2003)

Ive only shot one in my life. I got it on the wall and the taxidermist i took it to said he has only had 3 in his shop in 20 years and he is pretty well known so however you want to take that.


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## Marlo (Oct 9, 2004)

the Bender said:


> Anybody shoot Blacks in Nodak. I have a buddy who swears he shot them for a weekend last season. Just curious if anyone sees or shoots them often.


I hate black ducks!

We usually get our limit first thing in the morning leaving us with the rest of the day stuggling to identify them from suzie mallards.

(not in nodak)


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

Marlo,

not trying to tell you what to do, but if you shoot your blacks right away, that's even more reason to let the suzies fly away. It will only help your hunting in the future. :beer:


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## Marlo (Oct 9, 2004)

FLOYD said:


> Marlo,
> 
> not trying to tell you what to do, but if you shoot your blacks right away, that's even more reason to let the suzies fly away. It will only help your hunting in the future. :beer:


I know, it came across as though we were suzie hunters which we're not. But, there's always a suzie or two that gets taken out of a flock that comes in with all the excitement. But when we risk overlimitting on blacks we'll let the birds go rather than take any.


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## tbuc (Mar 11, 2005)

Actually, wouldn't shooting suzies be a bit more desirable on the east coast compared to the rest of the country? Isn't the increase in the mallard population on the east coast part of the problem for black ducks? I thought I read somewhere that due to interbreeding with mallards, the pure black duck is expected to become more and more rare and eventually may become extinct. There may have been something in there about competing for nesting habitat also, but it was a couple years ago that I read this. The bottom line though was that the increase of mallards in the Atlantic Flyway is expected to hurt the black duck population. That could be a reason to shoot away on any susies that you have positively identified.


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## Drew Willemsen (Sep 29, 2003)

shot one yesterday along with 35 mallards, an awesome drake, too bad the patternmaster got the best of it....


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## Marlo (Oct 9, 2004)

Drew Willemsen said:


> shot one yesterday along with 35 mallards, an awesome drake, too bad the patternmaster got the best of it....


How'd you figure out it was a drake? the beak?


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## the Bender (Mar 31, 2005)

The Bill???


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## Marlo (Oct 9, 2004)

the Bender said:


> The Bill???


The thing they eat with


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

Drew, you shot a black duck! That's awesome. I bet Jones was a little jealous. :lol:


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## Drew Willemsen (Sep 29, 2003)

yeah, plus when I walked up to it the whole chest was black all the way down to the tail...


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## Marlo (Oct 9, 2004)

Drew Willemsen said:


> yeah, plus when I walked up to it the whole chest was black all the way down to the tail...


Yeah? thats a black duck.


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## the Bender (Mar 31, 2005)

Anyone know the annual harvest of Blacks in Nodak? In MN it is estimated at 1,800/yr. Is there a breeding population in the Turtle Mountains? I'm just curious what guys really see & hear and shoot, I hope.


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## Marlo (Oct 9, 2004)

the Bender said:


> Anyone know the annual harvest of Blacks in Nodak? In MN it is estimated at 1,800/yr. Is there a breeding population in the Turtle Mountains? I'm just curious what guys really see & hear and shoot, I hope.


Good question, I read an article in the DU magazine that most (maybe it said 3/4) of the black ducks are in the Atlantic flyway...

BUT, it also said the Atlantic flyway only has 12% of the puddle ducks on the continent!

That must mean you Nodak hogs can walk across your lakes with all the birds you have!

Lucky bums!

:lol:


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## R&amp;B OUTFITTERS (Feb 25, 2004)

We have shot 2 Black Ducks here in Southern Saskatchewan, in the last
30 years, Got 1 this year and 1 about 5 years ago.


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## Marlo (Oct 9, 2004)

R&B OUTFITTERS said:


> We have shot 2 Black Ducks here in Southern Saskatchewan, in the last
> 30 years, Got 1 this year and 1 about 5 years ago.


Well ya'll are welcome in the swamp anytime youre in the area. Even if the limit is only one blackie each, it's still awesome working a flock of 15 - 20 blacks. And everything they say about their timidness is true. You REALLY have to work the flock to get them to commit. It's not unusual for them to circle for 10-15 minutes. If visibility sucks and you can't see the strobe effect of their underwing on their belly, the next best way to tell them from mallards is their behavior.


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