# Last band of the year!



## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

Our season closed this past weekend.

My buddy Jason from PA got this band two Saturdays ago. That made two banded drake eider for the season.

It was banded in Nova Scotia in 2006.


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## ND_duckman (Feb 17, 2006)

Ending it on a high note!!! :beer:


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## dwshunt (Apr 26, 2003)

I've got a good friend in NH and he is getting set up to do some sea duck hunting. I can't wait to go visit in late Nov for a sea duck hunt. They are some pretty birds.

Great pics and congrats on the band, it gives me hope.


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## DeltaBoy (Mar 4, 2004)

That is a great looking bird and a very nice way to end the season.

Congrats!


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## proagr465 (Nov 18, 2006)

Very nice! What a Prize!


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

I don't know much about sea duck hunting, but what are the limits on hen eiders? Do guys usually shoot whatever comes in the decoys, or do they try not to shoot hens?


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## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

Our limit on sea ducks is 7 a day, no more then 4 of one species. There are no hen limits.

The guy with the band is a taxidermist from PA. He watned a couple of nice hens to do a mounted pair.


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

I have read that some waterfowl biologist are worried about the sea duck population and they have a hard time doing accurate counts? If this is so how can they justify potentially killing 7 hen sea ducks a day? Shouldn't there be some restrictions on the number of hens one can shoot?


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## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

I agree. I think they should impose a hen limit. I would have no problem with that.


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

Is sea duck hunting challenging? I have watched a few videos and it seems like the guys get into a big boat, go out into the ocean, put out a few strings of decoys and the sea ducks fly right by as if they could care less about the boat.

Are they good to eat at all, or are we talking jerky with lots of pepper?


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## kaiserduckhelm (May 26, 2005)

Storm said:


> Is sea duck hunting challenging? I have watched a few videos and it seems like the guys get into a big boat, go out into the ocean, put out a few strings of decoys and the sea ducks fly right by as if they could care less about the boat.


I would think its the most challanging of all waterfowl hunting...Think about it if something fails you get stranded your worst case you die. Then again some guys stick a spinner in a cornfield and call it duckhunting........ :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

In regards to the elements, yes I can see it being the most challenging. But I'm talking about the actually hunting part. It seems to me like sea ducks are not real intelligent. They fly right into a spread that has a large boat parked in the middle of it. Try getting a group of mallards to do this, or Canada geese, snow geese etc. I have been heard that they are hard to bring down and are tough to kill.


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## kaiserduckhelm (May 26, 2005)

Bwaaaaaaaaa. You think mallards or canada geese are intellegent. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I could throw a spinner in cornfield and have no other decoys and the ducks literally try and eat the damn thing. Canada geese...the biggest suckers if you know how to run a call. If you do your homework right or go on good migration day and half *** know what your doing, killing a pile of ducks and geese is about as easy it gets. I don't see how seaduck hunting could be any different, then again I have never done it, but to say they are dumber than a canada or mallard is way off.


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

I would like to read a sea ducks hunters thoughts on this issue. The swampers seem to sea duck hunt and also do some field hunting. So are sea ducks as stupid as they seem. Do they think the big boat sitting in the decoys is a rock in the ocean? Migration day or not, if I parked a large boat in the middle of my Canada decoys they aren't coming in.


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## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

I don't like to call them dumb. Let's just say that they react to decoys very well. They are a very 'sociable' bird. They want to be in a group, so when they see the decoys more times then not, they cooperate.

However, you can sit there some mornings and watch flock after flock flair off at 50 yards.

I find any species of waterfowl to do the same. Some days they come over the trees feet down and don't think twice, and then the next day you can't call a flock into shooting range.

Do I think it is easier to go out and shoot a limit of sea ducks then some other type of bird, sure, but I don't think it is becuase they are dumb. As far as shooting from a big boat, I have killed canadas, blacks, blue bills, mergansers, buffle heads, and golden eyes sitting in a 'big' boat. Don't forget we hunt two completly different ares. Our birds here are used to big rocks and structure along the shore.

Let's not forget the wheather and elements either. The last day of our season was 14 degrees with 3-5 ft seas, winds 20-25 knots gusting to 35 knots with freezing spray. I hunt out of a 21 ft boat and we still got our a$$es handed to us! But I would take that over shooting a mallard any day!


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## Timber2005 (Jul 8, 2005)

Storm, Your posts seem interesting, are you really concerned about Sea Duck Hunting or are you trying to start another "Hen Killing" battle... Give the fellas some credit.. Nice kill guys, and a band to top it off!!


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

Timber2005 said:


> Storm, Your posts seem interesting, are you really concerned about Sea Duck Hunting or are you trying to start another "Hen Killing" battle... Give the fellas some credit.. Nice kill guys, and a band to top it off!!


No, I'm not trying to get into a "hen killing battle". I don't know much about sea duck hunting and am trying to learn from someone who actually hunts sea ducks.


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## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

Hey I don't mind answering questions, I have no problem with anything anyone has said so far.

I will say that on a daily basis we normally try to shoot only drakes. Most of the time the only reason we shoot hens is because some one wants to mount one.

Most of the guys who gun with me have never shot sea ducks before, and they either want to have a pair mounted or they would just like see a hen up close.


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

I asked this question earlier but didn't get a response. What do sea ducks taste like. Do they basically eat fish, and mussles. If so I bet they don't taste to great. Do you breast them out and make jerky out of them? I talked with a guy one time that shot some Brant geese on the east coast and he told me that you could open their mouth and smell what they had been eating and this would tell you what they were going to taste like.


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## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

Eider and scoter eat mussels, not fish. I think they taste better then buffies or golden eyes, but that's not saying much. 

Most guys I know make jerky out of them. If you get all the fat off of them and soak em' over night to get the blood out, they aren't half bad. Any time I have eaten them it has been in fajitas or tacos, something with alot of spice.


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## Madison (Mar 1, 2002)

TheSwamper said:


> I don't like to call them dumb. Let's just say that they react to decoys very well. They are a very 'sociable' bird. They want to be in a group, so when they see the decoys more times then not, they cooperate.


Exactly, its not that the birds are dumb, its the conditions your hunting them in.. I've done a lot of big water diver hunting on Lake of the Woods, and when the conditions are right (wind blowing, 3ft. rollers, freeezing rain, etc.) the birds tend to act in our favor..

Big water diver hunting gets my vote everytime time 8)


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## Ramsey (Apr 11, 2004)

Great pictures, Brian.

I wouldn't consider seaducks nearly as difficult to hunt as compared to dabblers; it's finding concentrations of them in such an expansive marine environment, getting to them and back to the ramp safely that makes it such a challenge. It was by far among the most memorable of many, many hunts I've ever been on.

Those mature brick red hens are among the most beautiful of waterfowl (in my opinion, individual milage may vary). They don't pair until ages 2-3 so picking birds out of a pair (instead of a flock) ensures nice adult birds. My partner and I took turns shooting adult birds for two days, each shooting a nice hen on day one and selecting mature drakes on day 2.

I could care less how they taste. We brought them home. We're each mounting several; friends gladly accepted the remainder as gifts for their own collections. They're beautiful birds in a challenging environment and I sure am glad there are guys like Brian Rhodes and Ruben Perez that can put hunters onto them safely and consistently.

The abundance of fresh seafood is a bonus. Fresh lobsters, $11.









I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good. First pair that came in sailed into the decoys and a single shot dropped them both. The lab fetched the hen first and was then sent for the drake. As he was returning with the drake and about 5 feet from the boat my buddy jumped up pointed at the bird and excitedly yelled two very magical words - it's banded!










Big beautiful bull eiders...First thing you notice about seaducks is this: you're looking for them right above the water, not up in the sky. All but a few of the thousands of birds we saw the entire weekend were just 5 or so feet off of the water. The second thing you realize is that they're easy enough to hit but, built like sherman tanks, difficult to kill - keep shooting until their heads are down.

Determined to shoot only quality birds, we took turns on bright white adult drakes and pairs of ducks, passing entirely on decoying flocks. The first morning we each selected a nice, brick-red hen eider, maybe one of the most beautiful of hen ducks, from a pair. The second morning we stuck with drakes only.


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## Commando (Jan 13, 2006)

Sweet pics. Thanks for sharing. :beer:


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## Storm (Dec 8, 2004)

How much does a guided hunt usually run.....ball park figure?


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## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

Hey Storm I pm'ed ya.


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## maanjus11 (Nov 17, 2006)

kaiserduckhelm said:


> Bwaaaaaaaaa. You think mallards or canada geese are intellegent. :lol: :lol: :lol:
> 
> I could throw a spinner in cornfield and have no other decoys and the ducks literally try and eat the damn thing. Canada geese...the biggest suckers if you know how to run a call. If you do your homework right or go on good migration day and half a$$ know what your doing, killing a pile of ducks and geese is about as easy it gets. I don't see how seaduck hunting could be any different, then again I have never done it, but to say they are dumber than a canada or mallard is way off.


Man! From the sounds of things you should make a "how-to" video on waterfowling...you could make a lot of money! :roll:


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