Black Duck

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For the majority of waterfowl hunters across the country, the American black duck is a once-in-a-lifetime bird. A close cousin to the Mallard, the black duck will be forever associated with the Atlantic flyway. They can be found in freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers, and wetlands, but these birds have a keen affinity for coastal salt marshes. While the black duck is an east-coast icon, it also ranges westward to the Mississippi flyway.Known as one of the wariest and hardest-to-kill of all the puddle ducks, hunters must have excellent concealment, good decoys, and a bit of luck to harvest a black duck. While these birds can be found all along the entire eastern seaboard, the highest wintering populations range from the salt marshes of Long Island and New Jersey down to the Carolinas. Here’s everything else you need to know in order to identify, hunt, and cook the American black duck.The American black duck has a dark blue speculum with black borders. (Photo/Mircea Costina/Adobe Stock)Appearance and CallsThe black duck is often mistaken for a hen mallard on the wing. But a closer side-by-side comparison will quickly reveal the black duck’s much darker chocolate-brown feathers. It is also one of the few ducks where the hens and drakes are almost identical. Males and females both wear dark coats of feathers and have grayish heads. The only way to tell the difference between hens and drakes is by the color of their bills—drakes have bright yellow bills, and hens have olive bills. Black

By fifty percent, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Currently, numbers are stable but remain below the long-term average. This stabilization in the population allowed the Atlantic flyway daily bag limit to be increased from one to two birds in 2018. This regulation change came after 30 years of a one bird daily bag limit. The Mississippi flyway also has a daily black duck limit of two birds.Black ducks face many of the same issues as most waterfowl species, including loss of wintering and breeding habitat, pollution, and urbanization. Biologists have also determined that crossbreeding with mallards contributes to a decline in overall black duck numbers.Black Duck HuntingYou have to love black duck hunting to specialize in it because limits are low, and consistently killing these birds is a lot of work in the coastal marshes where they are traditionally pursued. I grew up hunting the salt marshes of Long Island’s south shore, where the black duck is king. Hunting these birds along the coast usually requires grass boats or sneak boxes, a reliable outboard motor, and an intricate understanding of the tides.Hunters will time their shoots around falling tides, which expose the marsh banks with food for the ducks. Many times, the falling tide, regardless of the time of day, will provide the most bird activity and best hunting. Black ducks usually feed as singles, pairs, or small groups. As the tide rises, ducks will start to leave the salt marsh and fly to freshwater ponds and