2014-2015 Species Log

[Rick]

2014-2015 September Teal: 257 blue-winged teal

[blockmaker]

Damn impressive. Wish we had a place teal liked.

[Rick]

Well, I guess it's relative and know I've been spoiled, but this has been a far cry from what we old farts have come to think of as a strong September here in SWLA. Still, I'll take it and feel flat blessed compared to the hand many in our area have been dealt this year. Second such low/late migration year in a row and perhaps a sign of change for the worse with blue-wings similar to what we've seen with mallards and specks. Guess time will tell. Know I'm going to be out there enjoying it regardless.

[Duckdog]

Hey Rick, when the BW migration is late like this, does this normally mean you guys will be covered up with them during the regular season? Or will they still bypass you while waiting for the regular season like they do us?

[Rick]

Hey Rick, when the BW migration is late like this, does this normally mean you guys will be covered up with them during the regular season? Or will they still bypass you while waiting for the regular season like they do us?

We shot more blue-wings than most regular seasons last year but were far from covered up with them, despite hunting a couple parties reporting them as the primary duck in the bag on recent Canada and ND trips. Don't recall big concentrations of them in October, but don't know if that's not paying attention or they didn't hold up here.

[Rick]

2014-2015 First Split:

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - 12

Buffleheads - 1

Bluewing Teal - 14

Canvasback - 1

Gadwall - 15

Greenwing Teal - 85

Mallards - 74

Mottleds - 2

Pintails - 12

Redheads - 2

Ringnecks - 61

Shovellers - 45

Wigeon -8

Wood Ducks - 9

Speckle-bellied geese - 25

First Split total - 341 ducks and 25 geese


Those numbers are better than last year's miserable ones but still below our better recent seasons, particularly with regard to mallards. It's my guess that the loss of open water to encroaching vegetation and flotant on my end of our marsh is shifting callable traffic away from my isolated pothole to the more broken marsh to its east. Know they're frequently banging away while we're sky watching.

[Rick]

2014-2015 Second Split:

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - 9

Blue-winged Teal - 4

Gadwall - 36

Green-winged Teal - 200

Mallards - 109

Mottled Ducks - 3

Pintails - 23

Ringnecks - 20

Scaup - 2

Shovelers - 49

Wigeon - 5

Blue Geese - 5

Snow Geese - 3

Speckle-bellied Geese - 20 (1 banded)

Second Split Total: 460 ducks and 28 geese

[Rick]

2014-2015 Regular Season Totals:

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - 21

Blue-winged Teal - 18

Buffleheads - 1

Canvasbacks - 1

Gadwall - 51

Green-winged Teal - 285

Mallards - 183

Mottleds - 5

Pintails - 35

Redheads - 2

Ringnecks - 81

Scaup - 2

Shovelers - 94

Wigeon - 13

Wood Ducks - 9

Blue Geese - 5

Snow Geese - 3

Speckle-bellied Geese - 45 (1 banded)

Regular Season Totals: 801 ducks and 53 geese

All Inclusive 2014-2015 Season Total: 1,111 birds

[blockmaker]

Your variety amazes me. Very cool to see. Great numbers.