New Season Begins

Word is that this years sea duck season is underway and the birds are here in great numbers. A number of local waterfowlers have limited out on multiple trips offshore. I've had the occasion to be on the water a few mornings to see sizeable rafts on Boston Harbor.

The Plaistow Rod and Gun Club in Plaistown NH, will be hosting the Rockingham chapter of Ducks Unlimited Saturday, October 22, located at 18 May Ray Ave. Doors open at 5:30pm and early birds get the best seats.

If you'd like to meet some of these Sea Duckers all you need to to is show up. There are lots of donations and pretty much everyone goes home with some type of duck bling. The Fundraiser starts at 6pm, there's great food, a cash bar, and more stories than you can count. I attended my first meeting last year and I can't wait for this Saturday. See you there!

Seaduck Decoys

Knutson's offers a nice selection of seaduck decoys for your hunt this season.  You can view their selections here. 

Respect

Finally the Sea Duck, the least studied group of ducks, is commanding some respect.  Click on this Link to read about "The Sea Duck Joint Venture" and their conservation efforts.  Some interesting articles here.

Lost at sea !

Looks like one of our White Winged Scoters got lost at sea and is creating quite a buzz in the UK. Click here for the story.

Duck hunting in New England - Extreme Pleasures

The Curious Lives of Sea Ducks

King Eider Duck

The link below explains the differences between dabbling ducks and sea ducks.  There are some interesting facts that explain the differences in nesting, habitat and preferences.  Ducks Unlimited posted this on their website.  Click here to read the full article  

Super Ducks...

Science may have discovered why ducks are sensitive to colors and how to make them less wary.  Will this render camouflage obsolete? To read the whole story from Discovery, click here!

Home Depot Mama Duck

Looks like mama duck and ducklings decided to leave the Home Depot in Bangor.  The real question here is... Are they headed to Lowes??  Click here to read the follow up story.

Black Duck sells for $22,425

Hand Carved Black Duck Decoy

Who knew that an old carved black duck decoy could sell for so much.  Guess I'll be keeping my eyes open at yard sales from now on.  Click here to read the details. 

Audobon Narrative of the Eider Duck...

Drake Eider

Hen Eider

This Audobon page has some very good narratives on the Eider duck and hunters should take note. It gives some great details on East coast nesting in Labrador and Newfoundland Canada as well as their flyways in Nova Scotia. Follow this link to read more about Eiders and other seaducks that frequent our coastline in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

We have Brants ...

Here's a picture of Gene and his first harvested Brant.  Boston Harbor is home to a number of Winter seaducks as is most of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire coast.  If you've never considered hunting seaduck, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.  The shooting can be very, very fast!

Duck Porn !!

Well, not exactly... Ducks Unlimited posted this Photo Essay on duck mating games and the photos are outstanding.  Spring is a great time to get out to the coast and see your local birds in action and their plummage is at its peak.  Personally I couple this time with the arrival of Striped Bass in the local rivers where many ducks congregate in the warmer months.   Kinda gets your blood moving and me to thinking about the Fall season.

Interesting Website

Barrows Goldeneye

I found an interesting website that is entirely focused on Seaducks.  The address is http://www.seaducks.org/ and it has excellent information on ocean ducks as well is some great photos and bird descriptions. 

There is also an announcement of the upcoming Sea Duck Conference in Alaska this September 12-16.  Lots of information and it sounds like a very informative session.  Check out the link for more details.

Home Depot supports local duck population...

Not your common story but a good way to kick our first post.  This Home Depot in Bangor Maine makes way for duckings.  Here's the link to the story posted in the Bangor Dailey News.