The Black Duck

By Al Lowe
Contributor

For those of you who are confirmed wildfowl hunters, the Black Duck is not one of the prominent birds you will find in your bag in Northwestern Ontario, but there are lots in Southern Ontario.
They do breed here, however, and they migrate through, sometimes in fairly large numbers.
The Black Duck is primarily a bird of eastern North America. Its breeding range is from the edge of Manitoba to the east as far as the Atlantic, both in Canada and the northeastern U.S. As you go farther east, this bird becomes more and more the duck for hunters to aim at.
The sexes of these ducks are very similar in colour. Actually, they are quite drab, their basic colour being a mottled brown. They are very easily confused with female Mallards. The male is quite a bit darker than the female, and at a distance, may appear to be quite black. The head and neck is lighter than the rest of the body.
If the ducks are above you, the flashing white wings are a very good indication of Black Ducks. The speculum (the coloured part of the wing) is purple with no border. In the Mallard, it is blue, and bordered with white.
This bird is recognized as being one of the wariest, and hardest to shoot, of all the ducks. I am not a hunter, so I cannot vouch for this, but all the references tell me that the person who gets his quota of Black Ducks is considered to be a pretty good hunter. They live mainly of vegetation, so they are good tasting table birds.
The Black Duck nests in the woods. Often it chooses a spot near a pond or creek, but it may also nest hundred of yards from the water. It usually nests on the ground, but it may use a hollow tree, as many ducks do. And once in a while, the Black Duck will actually build its own nest in a tree.
The population of the Black Duck is declining. There are several reasons for this. One is the loss of forest habitat in eastern North America to logging. Another is they very heavy hunting pressure in the same area. This is now being reduced in both Canada and the U.S. The other is the 'innovation' of the east by the Mallard. These freely interbreed with Black Ducks. However, the offspring are not nearly as vigorous as either of the parents, and certainly nowhere near as wary.
Ducks Unlimited has expended a great deal of time and money in preserving habitat for these ducks in the Atlantic provinces. They are still the most sought-after duck in the eastern part of this continent.
The Black Duck (Anas rubripes) is still the major component of the ducks in the Atlantic flyway. The fact that it does breed here, and also goes down the Mississippi flyway, gives you local hunters something to aim at.