Shot a Mexican Bandit!

[jrabq]

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.

 

[SaskHunter]

Pretty cool, nice mutt too!!!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Never knew there was such a thing. A few years back just at dusk as I was walking out of the fields, the dogs jumped a fulvous tree duck off a ditch. I didn't shoot it because I had my hands full of geese and gun. Very close and ID was easy enough with legs dangling behind, long neck, and weird call. They have been spotted in Minnesota rarely but it is believed that was the first encounter this far north. They are typically a temperate zone bird.

 

[Nick87]

Awesome!!

 

[Sask hunter]

Cool bird!

 

[Jc2020]

That’s awesome I have yet to shoot a banded duck

 

[OntarioHunter]

Looks to be a drake from its bright yellow bill. A "brownhead".

 

[F250]

Looks similar to the Black/Mallard cross in the east.

 

[jrabq]

Looks to be a drake from its bright yellow bill. A "brownhead".

Yes, without the bill they can be really hard (impossible?) to ID. They have 2 white bars bordering the speculum on the wing, like mallards, and unlike Blacks and Mottled ducks. Here's a pic from 2013 with a Mexican duck between a Mallard drake and hen (edit: after looking at this photo again the hen might actually be a Mexican duck hen). This specimen is also fairly light, I'll see if I can dig up some photos of a darker one, and a hybrid.

 

[jrabq]

Here's one from last year that is a bit darker, also between a Mallard drake and hen.

 

[jrabq]

Here's a hybrid Mexican X Mallard from last year. It was shot in January so it's not still going through eclipse phase. Some hybrids will have less green in head, but still a dark rump and a bit of a curl tail.


Found another hybrid photo.

 

[BucksnDucks]

Bands are always exciting but on a Mex duck that's next level. Congrats.
Was it banded as a Juvie or over first year?

 

[jrabq]

Here's a very dark one next to a lighter one from 1998. Now I'm really curious as the cause of the color variation. I had intended to get the darker one mounted, but it didn't happen.

 

[jrabq]

Bands are always exciting but on a Mex duck that's next level. Congrats.
Was it banded as a Juvie or over first year?

Over 1 year old. Banded ducks aren't super rare where I hunt because it's along flyway with several Fed refuges, but this is the 1st Mexican duck band for me.

 

[jrabq]

A few years back just at dusk as I was walking out of the fields, the dogs jumped a fulvous tree duck off a ditch. I didn't shoot it because I had my hands full of geese and gun. Very close and ID was easy enough with legs dangling behind, long neck, and weird call.

That's a cool sighting for sure. They are weird looking ducks, so not hard to identify. My 2 brothers have each shot a fulvous in Louisiana, but that's not terribly out of bounds for a fulvous.

 

[jrabq]

Probably beating a dead horse, but after looking at the literature again I found 2 other features you can use to tell the difference between a Mallard hen and a Mexican duck. If you live in the southwest you have a decent chance of shooting a Mexican duck, and there have been some shot in the upper Rocky Mountain region.

The first key feature is the speculum color, and it helps to have a Mallard to compare it to. In this photo Mexican is on left, mallard on right. The typical mallard color would be described as blue, or even violet-blue. The Mexican duck speculum is definitely more of a turquoise, or blue-green color. Note that the Mexican duck has white wing bars below and above the speculum, very similar to the mallard and totally unlike a Black duck (no white bars) or Mottled ducks (lower white bar only, or none).

 

[jrabq]

The other method is to look at the feathers just below the rump. In this photo Mallard hen is on top, Mexican on bottom. For the mallard the feathers have white or cream colored edges, while the Mexican duck is definitely brown.

 

[APEBUILT]

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.

View attachment 171039View attachment 171040

Awesome day!

 

[jrabq]

Paid the Birdman for expedited service on my Mexican duck. This is the photo from him, always does a great job.

 

[jrabq]

Taxidermist asked me to remove the band, so I put it back on the duck when it got home. Now on opposite foot so it can be seen.