2 Pintails allowed this year

[Glenn W]

The Feds are allowing two Sprigs per day this year. Virginia has approved this increase from the "two more and I'd of had three" law and it looks like NC will follow suit as well (not official for NC yet).

Bluebills and Redheads are still @ 2 and the Federal limit is 6 ducks per day ( Va. increased its limit to 6).

[Bert Rodgers]

Still only 1 black, but I guess that's perminant.

Bert

[Glenn W]

Still only 1 black, but I guess that's perminant.

Bert

Yea, I'm afraid your probably right. I don't know the science so don't quote me, but I think the biggest problem with protecting the Black numbers is not one of habitat, but rather the interbreeding with Greenheads. I was up in New Brunswick in late June a couple years ago and saw more greenheads than blacks in the marshes and small lakes.
I guess the good news is that I'm seeing more and more hybrids and they don't count to my Black duck limit (at least in my book).
It would be nice to give us up to 3 sprigs with only one hen allowed, but there is always next year to hope for.
Good luck with the Blue bumble bees in a few weeks.

[Dave Sikorski]

I'm looking forward to having a 2 pintail bag this year.

It'd be nice to have the regs define the line between blacks and hybrids. If your first "black" ends up being a hybrid, why not take another?

Saw a few Bluewings the other day.

-D

[BluePrints]

Two pinnies will be nice, especially if there as thick around here as the last 2 years.

but rather the interbreeding with Greenheads.

Stupid no good park ducks. We should have no limits or seasons on the greenheaded trash ducks.

[Glenn W]

Two pinnies will be nice, especially if there as thick around here as the last 2 years.

An interesting read, if you're into this kinda stuff--


http://www.ncwildlife.org/hunting/do...nal_report.pdf

The long and short is that the Pintails in NJ,De, Md, and Va are mostly fron Eastern Canada, while those that migrate to lower NC and SC mostly come from the Prairie region.
I am 100% convinced that many (if not most) of the Sprigs that winter in Currituck NC pass through my area of Virginia. This is because I keep in contact with a couple of guides in Currituck and when we loose a bunch of Birds of one species, Currituck will get a good push of the same species that we lost within a day or two (been observing this for 4 seasons now). I also know that the Pintails will leave Currituck and high tail it to Pea Island with a bad blow. I would imagine that the Hatteras Island/ Northern Pamlico Sound Pintails are kinda like a merging zone of Eastern and Centeral ducks.
Aparantly when Mattamuskeet and Coastal SC got alot of Pintails they were mostly Prarie ducks. And the Prarie region has not rebounded as much as the Eastern Canadian provinces ( as far as Pintail production is concerned).