Been able to sneak in some duck hunts here and there. Been doing ok but lots of scouting required...Not many birds here yet. This pic is of a doubled banded drake mallard I killed off Potomac. $50 reward band....My first out of 30 or so bands I've collected. Bird was banded in NW Saskatchewan 2200 miles and 7 years since banded!

Some mallards from a secret hole....been a couple of limits w black ducks, widgeon, ring necks and shovelers too. I will post more pics when I get them up...

Been a rough local duck year down my way. Congrats on the double band I have a good number of bands like you, but haver gotten a reward band or a double banded bird. Overall i would say this is the poorest December migration i have ever seen in more than fifty years of duck hunting. Last December was bad but this one is worse. Glad you are having a good year

Been a slow year for me as well, but I've gotten a few. These were my first two mallards I ever killed. I wonder what the odss are?

Damn small...I'd go out and play the lottery if I were you. We have killed a few bands between 3 of us that duck hunt together this year...Fewer birds but more bands..crazy

Last year we did real good on ducks....big numbers! but only killed one banded drake mallard and a goose band...

Went this am and killed 2 man limit of black ducks and mallards...One black was a hybrid greenhead/black cross...pretty cool looking

I've killed FAR fewer ducks this year too but have killed more bands. Only one last year off a ringneck. I bagged probably 70-80 ducks last year compared to 8 or 9 this year. I'm hoping January will pick up.

Definetly more ducks down in the past few days...alot of my holes are froze up solid...but will thaw w warmer weather this week...there's alot of ducks sitting where I cant hunt too...anybody for that matter.....Couple private ponds and refuges...county lake...etc...full of ducks...I have a lease that I cant hunt until next year.cause of the easment restrictions......300 mallards, blacks, widgeon, and shovelers n there right now! Cant wait til next year!!

Good luck man! Sounds like next year will be a good one!

Scouted w/ gun, decoys and mojo yesterday am in a swamp that I've checked once or twice a week since opener...no ducks except for early woodies....So when i set up I was not in the mindset that 30-50 mallards were gonna drop in at shooting light....Thats what happened ....killed 3 drakes and a susie in 2 volleys and was picking up with ducks landing 10 ft away...Have to hit that again soon!

That's how it always work! Good shooting after though. I've got a swamp where 60 - 100 mallards and blacks fly over every morning that I just permission to hunt. That's where those two pics came from. It's so choked with weeds though and no good that most fly over. Got a dgif biologist coming in a week to give me ideas and tips on what to do. Hopefully next season it will be right.

I figure about one out of fifty birds we kill is banded where i hunt the most. The arkansas ratio is probably one in two hundred based on whatvi have seen and what i gather from guys who hunt there regularly. Interesting that ratio is so low there and they have a zillion more birds through there rhan we have in the atlantic flyway or the far eastern edge of the mississippi flyway

That's a pretty good ratio. I figure about 1 out of every 25 or 30 is banded based on my personal experience. I personally think I just have a horseshoe on me somewhere. I figure out in Arkansas would be less though just like you think. It seems weird to me, but maybe it's because thy just have such high numbers but don't get more birds banded in their area.

more huntin...Big Bird!