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TOO Waterfowl Chronicles

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
Had a good.hint tonight. Took about.an hour.
We packed up and.left.so we could.hunt it.again uploadfromtaptalk1388792003030.jpg
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
Ha thanks. He was.happy alrt. Happy we were done. Ha poor dog.has lived a rough life. But definately has a screw loose in.his head. Why any animal would continually get.in water by choice when its that cold out is.beyond me. Ha he is definately slowing.down though. Tonight was rough on him. Hes.getting to be.an.old man. I wish I would have.kept track.of every duck/ bird he has retrieved in his life.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,280
237
Ohio
Ha thanks. He was.happy alrt. Happy we were done. Ha poor dog.has lived a rough life. But definately has a screw loose in.his head. Why any animal would continually get.in water by choice when its that cold out is.beyond me. Ha he is definately slowing.down though. Tonight was rough on him. Hes.getting to be.an.old man. I wish I would have.kept track.of every duck/ bird he has retrieved in his life.

I'm glad I started keeping track right from the get-go with Betty. It'll be cool to look back on her retrieving stats some day. lol

Those cold hunts are very hard on them. I bet he sleeps like a log tonight and tomorrow!
 

Mao

Member
1,695
109
Coshocton, OH
I killed this Eclipse Bufflehead drake this morning. It came in 100mph into our decoys. I have seen buffleheads before but none like this. Are these rare? Or just not many where I hunt?
image.jpg
 

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Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
I killed this Eclipse Bufflehead drake this morning. It came in 100mph into our decoys. I have seen buffleheads before but none like this. Are these rare? Or just not many where I hunt?
View attachment 18861

They are not super.common down.here but this time of year we get them. That is just an immature drake. You can tell.by the black feathers still in his white patch on his head. We killed 4 yesterday. I do believe Jake took one home with him. He probably can post up a pic. We.killed 3 dandy.drakes.out of the 4. Along with 2 more stud red head drakes
 

Mao

Member
1,695
109
Coshocton, OH
Yeah I know what a mature one looks like. My buddy looked it up and said it was an eclipse bufflehead. I thought it was just a young bufflehead too. Dunno if there is really a difference or what an eclipse means.
 

Mao

Member
1,695
109
Coshocton, OH
image.jpg
Google image searched and found this. Adult male eclipse. Looks to be a lil different then a regular bufflehead. I could be wrong though.
 
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jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,280
237
Ohio
Like kaiser, I'd say its just a late-hatched juvenile bird.

Eclipse plumage is really nothing special... Its just an adult bird making a plumage transition after molting. The most common example being eclipse drake mallards during October and early November. At first glance they resemble hens.

Not trying to take anything away from your buffie... Its a nice bird and one to be proud of. I myself have never harvested a primo drake buffie.
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
Yeah I know what a mature one looks like. My buddy looked it up and said it was an eclipse bufflehead. I thought it was just a young bufflehead too. Dunno if there is really a difference or what an eclipse means.

With the way its back is jet black I am sticking with juvenile. They are a blast to shoot though. Was he a loner? Or were there others?
 

Mao

Member
1,695
109
Coshocton, OH
Like kaiser, I'd say its just a late-hatched juvenile bird.

Eclipse plumage is really nothing special... Its just an adult bird making a plumage transition after molting. The most common example being eclipse drake mallards during October and early November. At first glance they resemble hens.

Not trying to take anything away from your buffie... Its a nice bird and one to be proud of. I myself have never harvested a primo drake buffie.

Lol not offended at all! I just thought it was something different after looking on google images. I am no identification expert by any means. I thought it was a juvenile to begin with, but my buddy convinced me otherwise.
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
We killed a hen goldeneye yesterday. I'd assume that's a pretty rare kill in Washington County.

If its a cold year the river will be chalked full of them. They are the last.birds to migrate. We also killed a hen yesterday. We had 4 come.by us doing.Mach 1. Never.even pulled our guns up. We shot a bunch that day u hunted with us.Jesse