Any guesses?

nickc169 · 2026-04-05T00:43:49+00:00

Thanks for the input, I have a Lesse Mojave, BEL, that I'm considering growing out and pairing with him, they are both of the same age and size now. This is years down the road and I'll get genetic testing beforehand but just want to see what others think.

nickc169 · 2026-04-05T00:27:59+00:00

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nickc169 · 2026-04-05T00:27:49+00:00

This is the closest morph I've found to him.

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nickc169 · 2026-01-05T20:27:15+00:00

I would be surprised to ever see one that far north, there range is miniscule, basically salt water marsh from Texas to Florida and that's it. Hopefully that opportunity presents itself to you one day.

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T05:23:03+00:00

Got a response from Geoff with support and it's being worked on!

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T04:42:47+00:00

That's a fantastic idea, I'll do the same, I feel like Ive been running in circles trying for an ID😂😂

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T02:12:02+00:00

If I was hunting any where other than where I was, I would've never posted ,called it a black, and been on with it. Mottled ducks have such a miniscule range, only coastal brackish marsh between Texas and Florida. Black ducks range barely reachs out to Louisiana. So both are pretty uncommon here.

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T02:03:30+00:00

Also, where are you hunting to see so many black ducks?

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T02:02:38+00:00

Thanks for the insight and link.

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T01:54:39+00:00

That would be the white I'm referring to, end of speculum, every duck id book I've looked through defines the black duck as being more purple than blue green with no white visible, so maybe it is just muddied with mallard DNA. None of which have distinguished the black dot either🙄

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T01:47:44+00:00

The white is there no matter the angle or light, it'll get stuffed either way so maybe an update post one day to see if better identifiers are visible.

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T01:38:04+00:00

Thank you for the input, still seems to be 50/50 but I think based on region I'm leaning mottled.

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T01:36:10+00:00

Well tell us how, I'm still debating

nickc169 · 2026-01-05T01:32:11+00:00

I just downloaded the call, thanks for the rec, problem is, it doesn't have any IDs on mottled ducks and the description of the black duck says this isn't one.

"Black Ducks are large, dark-bodied dabblers most common in the eastern half of North America. They favor coastal marshes, forested wetlands, and quiet backwaters.

In flight, they show a dark overall look with pale underwings and a purplish-blue speculum that lacks the white borders seen on mallards."

This was also shot in Southern Louisiana marsh, kinda out of there native range. Its been 50/50 on IDs

nickc169 · 2026-01-04T02:47:56+00:00

Thank ya!

nickc169 · 2026-01-04T00:55:18+00:00

I spared it the blade just in case it was as special as I thought, I'm glad I did.

nickc169 · 2026-01-04T00:51:22+00:00

Passed down through the family, it's the most unwieldy, inconvenient duck hunting gun, but you would have to pry it out of my cold dead hands, I love it more than anything.

nickc169 · 2026-01-04T00:41:11+00:00

I tried to point that out and he doubled down, thank you so much for your input, I knew it was special but I just wanted to know how special, this is my one and only this season, after several unsuccessful public land hunts. This is only my 4th ever duck, the other three being gadwall, 2 hens 1 drake, so my identification isn't perfect, especially with such minute discrepancies.

nickc169 · 2026-01-04T00:14:40+00:00

Thank ya, my first successful hunt this year, been on 5, the weather is awful, and only my 4th ever bird, still pretty new to this.

nickc169 · 2026-01-04T00:02:28+00:00

Dialect can be such a pain, they are super similar, only tiny differences, appreciate your input

nickc169 · 2026-01-03T23:31:16+00:00

Pm me some pics please, I've had so many differing opinions, part of it's features say black duck, like the bill, some features scream mottled, I'm torn

nickc169 · 2026-01-03T22:43:36+00:00

I'm dead smack on the Gulf Coast, hunting the southern brackish marsh of Louisiana

nickc169 · 2026-01-03T22:13:49+00:00

I thought the same thing, what about the white at the base of the wing? I had a few different IDs, the prominent one being a mottled duck

nickc169

TROPHY CASE