Diving ducks provide good action for end-of-season hunters

When hunting divers, many hunters construct a makeshift blind from native materials such as switch cane, like this one made by Richard Cheek of Carlisle.
When hunting divers, many hunters construct a makeshift blind from native materials such as switch cane, like this one made by Richard Cheek of Carlisle.

If you listen to some waterfowlers, you might get the idea that mallards are the only ducks found in Arkansas. There’s no disputing the fact that these beautiful birds, which winter by the millions in our state, are the favorites of Natural State hunters. Most ducks killed here each year are this species, and many hunters never pursue other types of waterfowl.

Mallards aren’t the only ducks that can be hunted here, however. In fact, more than two dozen species of ducks live in Arkansas, and among them are several species of diving ducks abundant enough to provide excellent shooting opportunities for hunters who take time to pinpoint late-season flocks. You’ll have to hurry to get in on the action, however, as the last day of duck season in the state is Jan. 29.

Diving ducks, also called sea ducks, are typically birds of large, deep lakes and rivers, coastal bays and inlets. As their name suggests, they feed by diving, often to considerable depths. To escape danger, they can travel great distances underwater, emerging only enough to show their heads before submerging again. Among the most common species harvested by Arkansas hunters are the ring-necked duck, ruddy duck, lesser scaup and bufflehead.

Ring-necked duck

This duck might better be named the “ring-billed duck” because the white ring on the bill is a much more prominent field mark than the indistinct neck ring. They are common migrants and winter residents in Arkansas and are sometimes seen in huge rafts on lakes and streams.

Male ringnecks have a black breast and back. The head appears black but has a purple gloss. The sides are gray (sometimes appearing white), and the chestnut neck ring for which the duck is named is seldom visible. On the water, drakes show a vertical white crescent in front of the wing. Hens are brown with a white eye ring and an indistinct white area near the bill. The most notable characteristics on both sexes are the dark, white-ringed bill and peaked triangular head shape. The speculum is bluish-gray, and the belly is white.

Ringnecks on the wing fly swiftly in compact wedges and often land without circling.

Ruddy duck

Ruddy ducks are fairly common in Arkansas during the winter. The largest numbers occur in the Delta. They are very small, chunky birds, unpatterned except for conspicuous white cheeks. Winter males are grayish-brown with white cheeks, a dark cap and a large gray-blue bill. Females are similar but with light cheeks crossed by a dark line. Both sexes have a long tail that is often cocked straight up.

Ruddies seldom fly, preferring to escape danger by diving or hiding in vegetation. But once airborne, they are fast fliers with a buzzy flight and a quick, bumblebeelike wingbeat.

Lesser scaup

Lesser scaups winter in impressive numbers throughout Arkansas. Flocks numbering in the hundreds are common in the open water of lakes and streams. Among Arkansas ducks, lesser scaups have the largest surplus of drakes, which usually outnumber females by three to one.

Male scaups have light-gray, almost-white bodies, blackish chests and a black-appearing, purple-glossed head. Females are dark brown with a distinct white patch at the base of the bill. Both sexes have a broad white stripe on the trailing edge of the wing. The bill is blue, hence the gunner’s nickname “bluebill.”

Bufflehead

Buffleheads are usually found in small numbers on large open waters throughout Arkansas. They are small ducks with puffy heads on a chunky, short-necked body. The white wing patches are conspicuous. Males have a large white head patch extending from the eye over the back of the head. The female is dusky and has a slanting white cheek patch.

Buffleheads are among the fastest flying ducks with one of the most rapid wingbeats. In flight, the single broad white bands on the wings of males and the white speculum of the females contrast sharply with the dark outer parts of the wings. Most flocks consist of pairs and trios. Unlike most divers, buffleheads can fly straight up when taking off from the water.

Where and how to hunt

Unlike mallards and other puddle ducks, divers are seldom killed when hunting timber or flooded fields. For the best action, Natural State waterfowlers often hunt on the state’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impoundments.

Almost all of these lakes have adjacent wildlife-management areas where you can hunt, including Dardanelle, Greeson, Beaver, Blue Mountain, Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry, Millwood, Nimrod, Ozark and Norfork. If you use good judgment, however, and stay well away from developed sites such as marinas and homes, you can hunt practically anywhere on the Corps lakes without problems.

If you hunt from a boat, you’ll need a big one to hunt effectively (waves and wind can often be treacherous), and though you won’t often kill a limit of birds in a hurry, there tend to be enough diving ducks to provide shooting at scattered intervals. At times, however, when water levels, weather and other conditions are just right, hunting can be spectacular.

Your mallard decoys probably won’t work when hunting divers. Instead, you should use decoys that look like the predominant species of divers you find in an area during scouting. Use scaup decoys where scaup are found, for example, or canvasback decoys if you hope to bag some of these delicious ducks.

Most hunters set their decoys in a J pattern with a long string of decoys extending downwind and a concentration of blocks at the hook. Denser blocks toward the bottom of the bend help distract the flock’s attention from the boat or blind. The hunter should be hidden in a camouflaged boat or blind near the point of the hook and pick his shots as the birds try to land inside the bend.

When hunting from a makeshift blind on shore, a V pattern is often used. Strings of diver decoys about 100 yards long are set in a V formation. The blind and biggest concentration of decoys are at the bottom of the V, which points into the wind. Make sure the pattern is denser at the tip of the V to encourage birds to land close to the blind and not at the opening of the formation. With either formation, avoid decoys placed near the shoreline, as divers prefer open water where they feel safer from predators.

Fortunately, divers are usually less wary and tend to decoy more readily than puddle ducks. But Corps lakes are big water areas, and you’ll probably need big decoy spreads for high visibility and pulling ducks close. The expense of such sets is what keeps many Arkansas hunters from pursuing divers, despite the fact that these birds are often plentiful.

Don’t overlook Arkansas’ big rivers for good diver hunting as well. On the Arkansas River, for example, you may find big rafts of birds, especially

ringnecks and scaups, with a scattering of other species. You’ll have to be at the top of your game to bag them, but the challenge of diver hunting is what makes it appealing to the hardcore waterfowlers usually involved.

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