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what is it?

my first thought is juv shovler, or old hen

juvi shoveler.

Dang.. I though someone shot your friends dad..

A Shovler with poor plumage. The savior of every slow hunt.

cwink wrote:Dang.. I though someone shot your friends dad..

Just re-read the subject. Yup

Probably a very old hen shoveler. When they get old, they get their hormones mixed up and show both hen and drake characteristics. I think it's too late for late hatch colors. Happens in mallards pretty often.

I thought somebody got shot as well when I first read it. Glad it was just as shoveler.

Juvi bootlip

cwink wrote:Dang.. I though someone shot your friends dad..

+1

sorry guys for the mis lead, fixed the subject line

more i look at it the more i am leaning twards an old hen bootlip, just by the mix of hen feather, and the late season, in my mind its getting late to be seeing juvi plumage, hoping RR or mr Pat would chim in, the boy was really hoping to know for sure what it is

Check the tail feathers. If the tip is notched in a "V" shape, it's a juvenile, which is what it most likely looks like to me. The eye color is a dead give away too. A drake shoveler's eye is yellow (even juvies) and the hens are brown. Shovelers are late bloomers, and don't get their full breeding plumage til now. 1st year drakes are just now starting to show their green, like this one. A lot of people kill what they think are hen shovelers in November and December, but if they'd look a little closer, most are young drakes.

thanks

well the ole bird had brown eyes, and the feathers were not notched, so i guess its an old hen.

She has been shoveling for many many years.