Some Black Duck pics that I took recently........for your viewing pleasure












































This last picture is a real gem. Third bird from the left is a HYBRID duck Mallard-X-Black . Notice the mallard head on a black duck body.

Their element up here in the marsh today happened to be steel....

As it should be they are the weariest and shiest of all ducks in the North East. Hope you gave them the appropriate dosage

Very nice pics. Love the one on one leg preening!

BTW, we get hybrids here regularly. Always nice to shoot in the salt, as it means we can shoot another black duck (counts as 'other' towards bag).

Thanks Kamo Gari,
That preening pose would be pretty cool if a good waterfowl taxidermist could pull it off. I did hear that shooting the hybrid could go either way towards your Black Duck limit....game warden's "preference" is what it all boils down to.

quote:

Originally posted by collector:
Thanks Kamo Gari,
That preening pose would be pretty cool if a good waterfowl taxidermist could pull it off. I did hear that shooting the hybrid could go either way towards your Black Duck limit....game warden's "preference" is what it all boils down to.

I was thinking the same thing on the taxidermy. That'd make for a rocking mount, if, as you say, it could be pulled off. As far as the hybrid thing, I've never encountered any warden who cared to argue it if abundantly clear. Some I have heard have tried to claim hybrid by a thin white line appearing on the trailing edge of the speculum alone (true blacks are said to lack the white entirely), but I'd never try to get over with that one. If it has green on the head, however, it gets counted as 'other'.

A couple shots back at you. Black ducks are my favorite of all waterfowl, but then, I gun them in my back yard in the heart of their home range.











A hybrid that'd be hard to argue was a black duck.





One I eventually got to see a bit more closer up--after spending 30 minutes finding him!

As the man says Boom Boom Boom

Great shots Kamo...sky looks sinister.

WHITE LINE ON TRAILING EDGE:
Ok so I was of the school of though that if there was a tiny white line at the edge of the wing then it was not a pure black duck...well until I saw John James Audobon's Black Duck prints (over 150 years old) which clearly show the white stripe on Black Ducks. So question being have they always had the White stripe ? Or is it just a trait that appears in some pure birds ? I do not know...can of worms if you start talking to a biologist

TROPHY STATUS
There are waterfowlers out west who would give their left nutt for an opportunity on a nice Black Duck. They are a precious species and the Mallards are just diluting the gene pool. Not sure what the future would look like (say 100 years) when most Black Ducks will not be genetically pure any longer. Mallards have already screwed up the Pacific Black Ducks of New Zealand, very few pure birds left there, most are hybrids now. Unfortunately this is what is going to happen to our Black Ducks as well....it is just a matter of time. So mount a few good specimens and leave them for your grand kids....I am sure they will be appreciated in future

POSESSION LIMIT
Some states (Virginia) have more strict wardens and may choose to count the hybrid towards your Black Duck limit. So it is a regional thing, what is considered common sense in your neck of the woods may be frowned upon in another state. Lack of common sense and courtesy in many cases. Glad you have some sensible people doing the warden work in your neck of woods.

Thanks Collector and Kamo for the photos - also Norton for your photo from a couple days before.

I used to shoot them quite regularly when I lived in central Illinois but now that I want one to mount I figured they went extinct.

Anyway they are my favorite duck by far and I am going to someday plan a duck safari out East or down East or whatever that place is called.

Meanwhile all pictures are appreciated.

Nice Pics. Gotta love Black Ducks. It was the first duck I ever shot. Went about ten years before I shot another. Thanks
Bfly

Black ducks are neat birds. Great photos. Most of the time when I see them they are a hundred yards above the decoys, circling for the 10th time before they leave for good!

I dont fool with mounting birds much anymore but here are a couple of dead mounts I did years ago. Sorry for the poor photos.

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Their element up here in the marsh today happened to be steel....

And there's guys that say jokes using the periodic table of elements doesn't work.....

Great thread. A few more shots to add for now: ode to the noble and wise black duck. May they flourish always!

Cheers, fellow duckmen.

Yeah, I know there are CG and mallards filling most of the pic, but look in the reeds for the wily black ducks.





















P.S. Neat mount pictured above!

Collector: forgot to ask, but what kind of camera were you using?

TIA,

KG

Grafton,
I love dead mounts. That is a nice Black Duck and composition is very artistic. I believe dead mounts are more popular in the South. One of my friends has all North American puddle ducks as dead mounts. He has them all over his house and are great conversation pieces.

Kamo,
I've got all my eggs in the Canon basket so all my cameras and lenses are Canons. I believe Nikon equipment is as good as Canon but they have more of an indoor following...for outdoor photography I believe Canon has a bigger following and that is why all of my equipment is Canon.

Thought I'd add another hybrid pic.....

Paasche portable airbrush kit: $269
Green paint: $19
The ability to turn a black duck into a hybrid wherever you go: PRICELESS

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
Paasche portable airbrush kit: $269
Green paint: $19
The ability to turn a black duck into a hybrid wherever you go: PRICELESS

Damn, son......what are you doing giving up my secret????