It was one of those days that duck hunters dream of. Ducks were thick in the air, and were decoying with reckless abandon. As flock after flock of mallards came in, I picked out the drakes in each flock. With 4 well placed shots and 3 shots that didn’t find the mark I filled my four bird mallard limit. I watched as flock after flock of birds were shot at around me. Many birds were killed but one comment rang true around that marsh, “Not another hen!”
Wisconsin (along with a few other states) has a limit of one hen mallard per day per hunter. Simply put there is no other species that you are expected to distinguish between drake and hen. This means people are expected each time they step in the marsh, to not only distinguish between drake and hen, but also, take careful aim when duck hunting as to not shoot over your limit of hens.
This, however, is sadly not the case. Many hunters simply do not know how or simply do not care about harvesting more than their one allowed daily. Many of these hunters would rather simply stomp or bury their hens in the mud so they are not counted against their daily limit. These hunters simply have no respect for the resource and unfortunately distinguishing between hen and drake mallards is not the end. Many hunters cannot distinguish between species which inhabit the flyways they hunt. In much the same way that hunters harvest more than their limits of hen mallards they have the potential to go over their species limits as well. These cases are often much more extreme as species that have lower limits are often species that are not doing as well.
The identification problem is more of an issue in northern states. In these states in the early season ducks are often still in eclipse plumage and are all “brown”. Colors normally seen in the birds in breeding plumage are completely non-existent. To make identification easier, hunters should attempt to get birds to decoy closer. They should also spend more time in the marsh in the spring simply watching birds and learning to identify ducks by flight patterns and general shape. These things when combined will greatly reduce the chance that birds are misidentified.
In the end, these cases of misidentification are one of two things, either blatant disrespect for the laws which everyone is expected to abide by, or ignorance. Both of these things are unacceptable. Not only do these individuals not respect the birds they are pursuing, but they also do not respect the other hunters and birders that also enjoy hunting and viewing ducks.
I believe the DNR needs to begin to emphasize identification of individual duck species and differentiation between drakes and hens of these species. Enforcement at boat launches and parking areas frequented by duck hunters should also increase. Classes should be offered that help educate hunters on proper identification.
I think it is important for people to understand that duck identification is an issue but the responsibility of the hunters to make the effort to educate themselves on how to identify what they are shooting at.
4 comments:
I agree with you that hunters should take the time to learn how to identify ducks by how they fly and also their silhouette. What about Ringbills, "Ringnecks", and Blue Bills? Bluebills have the same silhoutte and flight pattern as a Ringer and the drakes are colored exactly the same except for one thing. The Ringbills have a white band on their bill and my experience hunting both bills and ringers they move at a speed where you can't see that variation.
I disagree with Scuap and Ring-necks being colored the same. Ring-neck drakes have a completely black back while Scuap have a white back with slight black speckling.
Also the birds have slightly different flight patterns on top of the fact that usually they have different habitat choices. However it is not uncommon to find them in mixed flocks. In the end, it comes down to more time spent watching the birds to notice the differences. Shoot first ask questions later cannot be an option.
It is unacceptable for people to break the laws. I do not believe it is uacceptabe for people to be ignorant. If people are ignorant it is usually not their fault. I am not a duck hunter but if one of my freinds said he would take me i would go and probably shoot the wrong ducks becuause i have no experience with them. But if i was going to do it on a regular basis i would for sure learn how to identify them and i think most people do try their best and just make mistakes. They sould not stomp them into the mud because that is just a waste of resources. I am curious as to if this i just your opion (that alot of duck hunters do this) or if you have found a paper or study which took hunters and assessed them on their duck identification skills.
I agree Gordon. Making mistakes is one thing. Its amazing how many days you cannot hit the broad side of the barn, but when you finally do hit a bird you hit two hens.
This is based on things I have heard in the marsh. Many people are not shy about telling others the illegal things they have done. I am amazed that I can go out almost every weekend in WI and talk to someone who has done this. There have been a few times I have walked up to someone and they had shot 6 ring-necks, and 3 are blue-bills. 1-800-TIP-WDNR gets the call then.
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