[jmburton]

anyone have some pointers or a place to look?

[Loyalist Dave]

Well, I can tell the difference between geese, ducks, and swan at a pretty good distance, and the no-shoot swans are the easiest of the three to identify (imho). You'll notice the speed of wing movement, as well as head location to the wings. Although they fly at pretty much the same airspeed, ducks are much more maneuverable and react much quicker than geese, and of course the geese are often kind enough to fly in a classic 'v' (and they usually honk) while ducks, not so much of a 'v' and not so much noise. As for ducks, you have to get the ducks in close enough to see the plummage. If there are "no shoot species" flying among the ducks, don't shoot and risk the illegal kill. If there are "no shoot species" in the area that are very similar to ducks..., again you have to get 'em in close. Go with somebody who knows what they're doing, and is good at spotting them off at a distance, that way they can point them out to you, and you get real practise and real time experience.

LD

[mothernatureson]

Do yourself a favor, get a good field guide. You really need to know what you are looking at , especially if you are hunting! I have "Ducks at a Distance" it was put out by the feds , I think it is still in print. There are other waterfowl field guides for hunters. Heck, even a " Petersons Field Guide to the Birds" would be good. It's a size just right for carrying along in your hunt or travels to the duck marsh. I have been hunting waterfowl for some time. I always carry it in my shirt pocket. Still have problems sometimes, especially when ducks are in eclipse plumage. If you hunt and use the field guide enough, you will begin to identify the ducks by the way they fly. Good hunting.

mothernatureson

[MCgunner]

Experience is the best teacher while they're on the wing. Get a field guide and study the pix to get started and just learn 'em as you go. One problem, the hens are bland coloring and harder to identify than the drakes, can be confusing to the novice lookin' at the bird in hand, let alone on the wing. It just takes experience. A few years of good duck hunting and you figure it out. Hard to get in trouble down here on the limits in the marsh where I hunt even if you can't tell the birds on the wing, mostly teal and spoonys out there. We do get flights of gadwall, widgeon, blue bills (scaup), and such on occasion, but this year it was teal and spoony for some reason. Not much variety. Too, out on the bays, you have a lot of red head and pin tail on the pot holes off the bay. They don't stray much back in inland marshes like the delta where I hunt. They're low limit birds. There's only one hole I know where I've killed mallard down here, too. That's a fun hole when the ducks are in there, all fresh water and trees around it, almost like hunting Arkansas...:D ...but it's an all or nothing deal. Either the birds are in there or you won't get a shot. So, where I normally shoot, 5 birds was the limit this season. I shot NOTHING, but teal and spoony this season. :banghead:

[CSA 357]

that is ONE reason i dont hunt duck , good luck :uhoh: csa

[redneck2]

I have a friend that can pretty well pick them out at several hundred yards or more. Speed, flock formation, etc. Takes a lot of practice.

[Bwana John]

I found that studying them out of hunting season really helps.

Not having to worry about shooting frees you up to see the little things.