Well, actually a banded Mexican..........duck. 
Had a good day obviously, was trying to shoot drakes only but the fog (unusual here) made it tough. 3rd duck was out of a flock of about 8 mallards, i thought I shot a greenhead going mostly on relative size. When it hit the dirt 10 yards away I was thinking "crap, shot a hen". Then I saw the bill and realized it was a Mexican duck. Didn't even see the band until a few minutes later.
Only damper on the day was after I had 4 ducks I went into a shooting slump, I think I killed 2 out of the next 8 or 9 ducks. I was not that well hidden and after the fog lifted they started flaring just when I got my gun on them. Then the sun came out and I was actually able to hide better in the shadow of the dirt bank I was laying against. At that point I only needed one more duck, pair of mallards decoyed real nice but when I got ready to shoot, the hen was right on top of the drake. Had the gun on them a good 20-30 yards while they swung over the decoys, didn't get separated till they were going away, shot and missed! That was a pisser. Finally got the last duck about 30 minutes later, so finished at 10:30, should have been done at 9:00.
Back to the Mexican duck, it was banded in September in Northern CO, the bander listed it as a Mallard drake. It's probably a rare duck up there so it's easy to see the mistake, especially in September. They are fairly common in New Mexico, I typically shoot one or two a year. They often show some signs of hybridization with mallards, this one looks pure Mexican. Some I've shot were a bit darker, based on recollection.
I do remember someone from Wyoming (or Montana?) posting a picture of a mystery duck a few years ago, I thought it was a Mexican duck that probably followed some mallards back north. The fact the duck I shot today was banded in Northern Colorado fits that picture.
Had a good day obviously, was trying to shoot drakes only but the fog (unusual here) made it tough. 3rd duck was out of a flock of about 8 mallards, i thought I shot a greenhead going mostly on relative size. When it hit the dirt 10 yards away I was thinking "crap, shot a hen". Then I saw the bill and realized it was a Mexican duck. Didn't even see the band until a few minutes later.
Only damper on the day was after I had 4 ducks I went into a shooting slump, I think I killed 2 out of the next 8 or 9 ducks. I was not that well hidden and after the fog lifted they started flaring just when I got my gun on them. Then the sun came out and I was actually able to hide better in the shadow of the dirt bank I was laying against. At that point I only needed one more duck, pair of mallards decoyed real nice but when I got ready to shoot, the hen was right on top of the drake. Had the gun on them a good 20-30 yards while they swung over the decoys, didn't get separated till they were going away, shot and missed! That was a pisser. Finally got the last duck about 30 minutes later, so finished at 10:30, should have been done at 9:00.
Back to the Mexican duck, it was banded in September in Northern CO, the bander listed it as a Mallard drake. It's probably a rare duck up there so it's easy to see the mistake, especially in September. They are fairly common in New Mexico, I typically shoot one or two a year. They often show some signs of hybridization with mallards, this one looks pure Mexican. Some I've shot were a bit darker, based on recollection.
I do remember someone from Wyoming (or Montana?) posting a picture of a mystery duck a few years ago, I thought it was a Mexican duck that probably followed some mallards back north. The fact the duck I shot today was banded in Northern Colorado fits that picture.
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