For the beginner duck hunter, duck hunting can be a challenging experience. It takes practice and familiarity to become a well achieved duck hunter. Strategizing, aiming, patience and knowing the varied species of ducks habits are all a part of the great adventure.
Republican Valley Waterfowlers would like to offer a few tips and facts concerning a few species of diver ducks for your next hunting quest.
Bufflehead Duck Identification & Facts
– Buffleheads get their name from their looks. Especially when the males puff out their feathers; their head strongly resembles a buffalo’s body.
– Bufflehead divers rummage underwater. They generally prefer waters from 4 feet – 15 feet of water. In the freshwaters, their diet is insects and in the salted waters they tend to lean towards crustaceans and mollusks.
– Being highly active, buffleheads will continuously take dives. One duck will stand guard, looking out for predators while the others dive for food.
– An abnormal trait from other duck species, buffleheads will stick with the same partner for years.
– Buffleheads nest in tree cavities, preferring aspens or poplars.
– Snowy and Great Horned Owl, Peregrine Falcon, Red-Tailed and Cooper’s hawk, Bald and Golden Eagle and Eurasian Eagle Owl are all great predators of the bufflehead duck.
– Buffleheads tend to avoid large flocks staying in smaller groups.
Hunting Buffleheads – Duck Calls, Decoys & Scouting:
Being they will join up with other species of ducks, buffleheads move in small groups. Only 4-8 decoys are actually needed. Buffleheads prefer larger bodies of water for diving, and are better hunted after their activities. Republican Valley Waterfowlers scout out the ducks pattern for a day or so to know the best places to set up our posts!
Canvasback Duck Identification & Facts
– An exceptional flier, canvasbacks can fly up to 70 MPH!
– Getting their name from their coloring, with a gray back and white sides.
– Their diet consists of insects and vegetation.
A traditional fish hook or J-pattern seems to work better than most in regards to decoys. While it is good to scout out the ideal places, creating blinds to bag these ducks are optimal.
Redhead Duck Identification & Facts
– Males are colored with a gray body, black back end and chest, and a bright reddish-brown head. They have yellow eyes and a light blue bill with a spackle of black on the tips.
– Prefer to munch on aquatic plants, roots and seeds, and will indulge on aquatic invertebrates in the summer.
– They like smaller flocks and will hang out with other species.
– In the winter months they will flock in larger groups.
Hunting Redheads – Duck Decoys & Scouting
Using redheads is optimal, but where they will hang out with other species, using other decoys could work. It is better to scout out popular nesting or feeding areas, and once found, to find a good place to hunker down, and get ready for picking them off. Republican Valley Waterfowlers will scout these areas for you!
Guided Duck & Geese Hunting & Outfitting Tours in Clay Center Kansas
Republican Valley Waterfowlers can make your diving duck hunting a pleasure with gun rentals and early season hunting services. Give us a call today to schedule your next waterfowl hunting experience!
