Bluewings, SB and the Tingle Jinx

[Wingman]

Yep, we headed out to the ole teal hole this morning. Scott Baker has a jam up teal hole that the teal didn't visit today We brought along some of the MS Outdoors crew, and we all limited on mosquitoes by 7:00. BUT...the highlight of the morning was when this shoveler (appeared to be a hen but could've been a drake in eclipse plumage) landed, swam up in....I MEAN IN the decoys and sat there for a good 15 minutes. We were being quiet at first, but then we started talking and all. And then....all of us stood up, moved around, walked up and down the bank......SHE STILL SAT THERE not 5 yards from us. Y'all, I'm tellin' ya, that duck was a pure, in-the-natural-form, spoonie straight from Manitoba that had never seen a human in her life. It was amazing to see a duck sit there and not have a care in the world as to what we did.

Well, you gotta find something good in every hunt!

Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31
http://www.fowlmood.com

[judge jb]

Scott Baker needs to get the MDWFP to appropriate some funds for the education of shovelers....haha...... i think they done this a few years ago with Teal, and it must have worked......haha..... haven't killed a limit since....... it only happens when the cameras are rolling.......

judge jb

[SB]

Rob, Didn't that spoonie say something like, "AFLAC"! We weren't short of spoonies or woodies. If we had wood duck/teal season like FL, TN and KY we would have been in business that morning, oh well.

[feedcall]

After last year, I like to refer to them as North American Shovelers. I sure hope there was a good hatch of North American Shovelers this year, because they made the season last year.

[bustemcupped]

while yall are on the subject of spoonies i gotta tell yall what i killed this year in the early teal season, I guess it was a teal/shovler hybrid cause it was colored exactly like a bluewing teal but it had the head and bill of a shovler , very very humorous as you can imagine

[Wingman]

Hehe, shovelers ARE colored like teal...blue speculum and all. In fact, ever noticed how a bluewing's bill is sorta shovel shaped? I believe they feed the same way, by filtering. But shovelers have that distinct sound to their wingbeat when they get up...if you've heard enough of 'em you know what I mean.

Wingman

SB, went scouting Saturday afternoon, not a teal in the county.

[Wildfowler]

Wingman, I've often referred to them as "mini" Shovelers.

Audubon says: "The BW Teal, goes through an eclipse phase and molts most of it's feathers simultaneously, including it's primaries, and so is flightless until it's new feathers grow in". Also says: "that this Teal begins courting in the Spring and often does not acquire the familiar breeding plumage until December or January".

It sounds like I was wrong with some of my earlier posted BW Teal theories.

Audubon also says: "Like the closely related BW Teal, the N. Shoveler is among the first ducks to arrive in the fall, and the last to leave in the Spring." And "because it (N. Shoveler) often feeds in stagnant ponds, it is particularly susceptible to botulism, a fatal bacterial food poisoning."

You are what you eat!!

[bustemcupped]

thats weird because if you look at any picture of a shovler they look nothing like a teal, maybe its just the time of the year, plus shovlers are relatively large ducks , and the bird I shot was small like a teal and he was flying with a hen bw teal, I know all bw teal have a flat part on the end of there bill , but the one I killed had to be atleast 2inches across and the edges over lapped I really dont know what it was

[Wildfowler]

Bustemcupped, I have to politely disagree with you. I was referring to the profile of the two birds which is remarkably similar to one another. Particularly their wing beats while flying and their feeding patterns/actions is nearly identical. BW teal do have a "spoon" shaped bill, though it's clearly not as large as a Shoveler's bill. You should notice this, if you ever see a BW fly directly overhead. Not too mention the coloring of the top and bottom of the wings in very similar. Lastly, I would not consider the Shoveler a large duck. A large duck is a Mallard, weighing 2&1/2 to 3 lbs. The Shoveler weighs half of that. Much closer in size to a BW Teal, which weighs about one pound.

but the one I killed had to be atleast 2inches across and the edges over lapped I really dont know what it was

If you were refering to the width of the birds bill, it sounds to me like you've got a N. Shoveler on your hands.

I hope you're not out shooting ducks that you can't identify.

[Wingman]

Mallard=4 lbs.
Green wing teal=1 lb.
Wingman=200lbs
Wingman after meal of teal and mallards=206lbs.

Wingman

[bustemcupped]

Yeah man I have to agree shovlers and teal look
exactly the same, and considering that you assume I cant identify my ducks ,
maybe you should look twice

[Wingman]

Bustem...both of those birds are in FULL BREEDING PLUMAGE as they appear during December and January. During September...few, if any of the members of either species are in full breeding plumage....they are brown and similarly sized. So....if you aren't careful, you might mistakenly shoot a shoveler while on a teal hunt. But..you very well could've shot a cross-duck. It happens all the time.

Wingman

[Wildfowler]

Thanks for the photos Butstemcupped. I am not accusing you of anything. I am especially not suggesting that you can't tell them apart in in April. I'm sure you've got a hybrid on your hands. I've never been lucky enough to get a hybrid. Way to go!!

Poor choice of words on my behalf.

This what I was referring to:

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tool ... citeal.htm
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tool ... OVELER.HTM

Look at each cooresponding photo in depicted in these links. It helps to view them side by side in two separate internet sessions.

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tool ... BWTEAL.HTM
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tool ... OVELER.HTM


Just try to look beyond thier full breeding plumage and you might notice how similar they really are, both in appearance and thier habits. I hope this helps.

[mallardchaser]

Good info Wildfowler.

[bustemcupped]

I understand about plumage changes throughout the seasons , thats not the issue, all I was trying to say is I killed a bird that had the body and coloration of a bluewing teal and the head and bill of a shovler, I was also assured by the local biologist that cross breeds are fairly common. I was however offended by your particular statement suggesting that I couldnt properly identify ducks, but you apoligized and I accept it so its all straight

C-Mack