Pennsylvania Game News - October 2021 - 16

October as mid-October.
" More than 80 percent of the wood
ducks we shoot within Pennsylvania - at
least in terms of our banded birds - are
banded within Pennsylvania. So the vast
majority of our wood ducks are local
wood ducks, " Huck said. " Whether we
open the season in early October or midOctober,
those birds are still going to be
here and be available to hunters. "
The two early season ducks - bluewings
and woodies - are birds of a different
feather, though. Hunters must keep
that in mind if they hope to pursue either
one in particular.
That applies to calling, for example.
" Teal respond well to calling, although
BLUE-WING BREAKDOWN
Here's what Ducks Unlimited and the
Cornell Lab of Ornithology say about bluewinged
teal.
SIZE: Males average about 16 inches in
length and weigh 1 pound; females average
14 inches and 0.8 pounds.
COLOR: Breeding males are brown-bodied
with dark speckling on the breast, a slaty-blue
head with a white crescent behind the bill, and
a small white flank patch in front of their black
rear. Females and eclipse males are a patterned
brown. In flight, they reveal a bold powderblue
patch on their upper wing.
BEHAVIOR: Pairs and small groups dabble
and up-end to reach submerged vegetation.
They frequently associate with other dabbling
ducks around the edges of ponds, under vegetation,
choosing a concealed spot to forage
or rest.
FEEDING: Blue-wings feed on aquatic plants
such as algae, duckweeds and pondweeds;
seeds from sedges, pondweeds, grasses and
the like; and large amounts of aquatic invertebrates
found in shallow flooded wetlands.
MIGRATION: Blue-wings winter in Florida,
the Caribbean Islands, the Gulf Coast of Texas
and Louisiana, Mexico, and Central and South
America. Wintering habitats include mangrove
swamps, fresh and brackish estuaries and shallow
wetlands.
16
their calls are a little different than a mallard's.
They do quack, kind of like a mallard,
but it's a lot more high-pitched. So if
teal are around, you want to duplicate the
sounds that they're making, " Huck said.
" Wood ducks don't respond to calling
nearly as well. Maybe a little bit, as long
as you're using wood duck-specific calls.
But you have to make sure you're using
the right kind of calls, those 'on-the-water
calls.' Many hunters try to duplicate the
flight call with very little success. "
The two species decoy differently, too.
" Putting out teal-specific decoys isn't
necessary if you focus on blue-wings,
but one thing that teal really do like is
the faster spinning-wing decoys. So
rather than the mallard ones that a lot of
Pennsylvania hunters run, running a teal
one or even a dove spinning-wing decoy,
which tends to spin a little faster, is often
the way to go. Teal seem to like those a
little better, " Huck said.
Wood ducks are different.
" Wood ducks generally don't like those
spinning-wing decoys. So if all you're
seeing is wood ducks, I would take them
down, " Huck said.
Of course, hunters willing to take
whatever ducks they encounter can shoot
blue-winged teal and wood ducks - as
well as mallards, blacks, buffleheads,
green-winged teal and more - over their
usual decoy spreads. In fact, that's the
approach Huck recommends taking. He
wouldn't try for blue-wings specifically
unless preseason scouting told him they
were around, for example.
Then again, he won't pass up any that
come his way, either. That's the beauty
of the earlier opener in the South Zone
- hunters are getting something new
without having to give up anything old.
" There is definitely a chance for additional
opportunities, " Huck said.
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2021

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