# Blue wings in november



## duckslug (Nov 6, 2012)

So this is my observation from at least the last two seasons......November came and the ice came with it. Seems like by the middle of November the last couple of years all of the small bodies of water were ice capped and there were no birds to be found. My observation the other day was a little confusing. BLUE WINGS IN NOVEMBER. I have read how Blue Wing Teal lead the migration in August and I see to only shoot them during the first few weeks of any given season. 2 days ago I saw a substantial flock of 30-40 circle us at close range a few times. 

Does anyone know if this is normal or is it a glorious sign that the season has really just begun?


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

" 2 days ago I saw a substantial flock of 30-40 circle us at close range a few times. "

why didnt you shoot ?

if a legit sighting, its simply an exception to the norm. Consider your self fortunate to have seen them this late. Granted this is a rare sight, when you say BW's, were you going off the wing patch/shoulders for ID?


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

cont:

such as the bird pictured?


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

duckslug said:


> So this is my observation from at least the last two seasons......November came and the ice came with it. Seems like by the middle of November the last couple of years all of the small bodies of water were ice capped and there were no birds to be found. My observation the other day was a little confusing. BLUE WINGS IN NOVEMBER. I have read how Blue Wing Teal lead the migration in August and I see to only shoot them during the first few weeks of any given season. 2 days ago I saw a substantial flock of 30-40 circle us at close range a few times.
> 
> Does anyone know if this is normal or is it a glorious sign that the season has really just begun?


Could they possibly have been Cinnamon Teal? I'm certainly not trying to discredit what you say you saw, but a lot of people confuse the two. 
This has for sure been a different November than in years past. I'm actually really enjoying the 50 degree weather for hunting. It probably won't last much longer, but you never know. If they were BWT that is a rare sighting and it would have been cool to see.


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## Gee LeDouche (Sep 21, 2007)

Fowlmouth said:


> Could they possibly have been Cinnamon Teal? I'm certainly not trying to discredit what you say you saw, but a lot of people confuse the two.
> This has for sure been a different November than in years past. I'm actually really enjoying the 50 degree weather for hunting. It probably won't last much longer, but you never know. If they were BWT that is a rare sighting and it would have been cool to see.


+1. blue wing teal are almost as rare as sea ducks here in Utah. All the "blue wing teal" people shoot are almost always cinnys. Not saying it doesn't happen, just saying it is a very rare occasion.


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## Dave B (Oct 1, 2007)

For every 200 guys that say they've shot them in Utah there might be 1 that actually did.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

I have seen a handful of genuine bluewings in Utah, but never past the second week of October. There's about a 99% chance that what you were seeing were cinnamons, but if they really were a late group of BWT then congratulations on spotting them!


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## stuckduck (Jan 31, 2008)

Dave B said:


> For every 200 guys that say they've shot them in Utah there might be 1 that actually did.


Agreed..... same thing on Greater Scup


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

We got a blue wing the 2nd week of the season. Quite surprised and triple checked to make sure it wasn't a Cinny


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## izzydog (Jan 18, 2008)

LostLouisianian said:


> We got a blue wing the 2nd week of the season. Quite surprised and triple checked to make sure it wasn't a Cinny


Serious question. How did you triple check? I have never been able to tell a difference for 100 percent sure.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

I saw a VERY nice blue wing hanging out at Ogden Bay by the north entrance pond. Nice big fully plumed drake. It was a month before the season opener. I met up with a bird watcher and he followed me out to show him. That's the only one I've ever seen in my life. BWT would be rare to see.


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

LostLouisianian said:


> We got a blue wing the 2nd week of the season. Quite surprised and triple checked to make sure it wasn't a Cinny


I would also like to know how you 'triple checked.' I was told years ago by a very knowledgeable Utah DWR person that even trained biologists have a difficult time telling the difference between blue wing teal and hen cinnamon teal. I'm not saying you DIDN'T shoot a blue wing, but how exactly did you confirm it was a blue wing teal? Enquiring minds want to know. :mrgreen:

The same knowledgeable Utah DWR person also told me that 99.99 % of the teal shot in Utah with a blue wing patch are in fact hen cinnamon teal.

Here is a quote from the All About Birds.ORG website. Please note the first sentence.



> Female and immature Cinnamon Teal are notoriously difficult to distinguish from Blue-winged Teal. Cinnamon Teal is always larger-billed than Blue-winged. They also have a warmer-toned face, whereas Blue-winged Teal has colder, gray tones and a bolder facial pattern. Green-winged Teal has a slimmer bill and more boxy head. Their overall body color on females is darker brown, with a darker stripe through the eye and darker cap. Green-winged Teal in any plumage lack the pale blue upperwing coverts of Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal and Northern Shoveler.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Bluewing Teal Pair:








Cinnamon Teal Pair:


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

The difference between a drake BWT and Cinny is easy to tell, even in eclipse-the BWT will have the white crescent (or part of it) on his face and the cinny will not. The hens are next to impossible to tell apart and even if you have one of each in hand and a ruler to measure the bills, it's still hard to tell. 
As far as greater scaup, I've personally seen 2 confirmed greaters shot in Utah but haven't been lucky enough to get one myself. They are a bit easier to tell apart from lesser because on the greater the grey band on the back of the wing will go all the way out to the tip, plus they tend to be a lot bigger than a lesser-close to mallard sized.


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## Dave B (Oct 1, 2007)

Yes sir, if it's not a drake I'm writing it off as a cinnimon teal.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Blue-wings are very rare in Southwest Wyoming and boy it's tough to tell the difference between the two, unless the male blue-wings are in their breeding plumage. We had more blue-wing teal in Evanston this year than I have ever seen and a lot of cinnamons. We took a couple piles of the look-a-like teal this year and got the books (LeMaster's is my go-to duck ID book) out, argued some and really never reached a consensus on what was what, but in my opinion we 2 or 3 Blue-wings. The Wyoming duck hunt starts a couple weeks earlier than Utahs and the teal all look like females, they're not even in eclipse mode then.

Cinnamons nest here but usually by October 1 they are long gone. I've been involved with the annual Christmas Bird Count in Evanston every year since 1983. I usually walk parts of the Bear River especially the open water below the dam. As far as I can remember we have only one sighting of a bull Blue-wing during our Christmas Bird Count and that Blue-wing was observed on the springs on the Deseret Land and Livestock.

I did get what I thought was a Blue-wing on the BRMBR once. 

I hope TOASTY chimes in on this one, he got a lot of teal this year up my way.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Maybe sometimes the Drakes of these two species themselves cant ID the "proper" ladies? but to go along with what Pumpgunner has said, the following picture is one similar to one that was posted awhile back by kingeider i believe, may have been stuckduck? ... i dont recall fully, but i do remember THAT pic.

Personally, its one of my all time favorite hybreds. Bluewing/Cinnamon 









the past pic i mention of the same type hybred, was even better looking than this one, with deeper looking purples in the head.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Well being from Looziana we killed a few blue wings down there in my day. Never killed a cinny tho until this year. Had the guide book and also had cell service so I googled the pictures online and then on our way out I asked the GW to take a look at it and verify it as well. So check 1-guidebook, check 2 - google pics and check 3 - GW. It was a drake, not in full plumage but a drake so it helped. Oh yeah forgot to mention, I got my degree in wildlife biology from Harvard on The Bayou (LSU)


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Cool, I "did" two years @ the U for the same degree... then dropped out ----long story--- shoulda stayed in school.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Gee LeDouche said:


> +1. blue wing teal are almost as rare as sea ducks here in Utah. All the "blue wing teal" people shoot are almost always cinnys. Not saying it doesn't happen, just saying it is a very rare occasion.


As rare as sea ducks?

I didn't think bluewings were an incredibly uncommon bird here. I've seen breeding pairs at Farmington Bay and Bear River Bird Refuge in the springtime. My Dad also shot a lone drake that came into our decoys opening day about four years ago.

I'm also about 75% sure that we jumped a drake bluewing off a creek around the first of november about 6 years ago. Unfortunately my Dad missed that one, so I'll never know for sure.

But, they're certainly around in the spring and summer. I just thought that most of them headed south before the season began.


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## Dave B (Oct 1, 2007)

Clarq said:


> As rare as sea ducks?.


Most certainly. Maybe even more so. I have actually seen several seaducks taken, and on the water in Utah. Never personally have I seen anyone take a drake bluewing here. Not saying there aren't any but VERY few are the numbers.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I guess sea ducks are more common around here than I thought...


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Clarq said:


> I just thought that most of them headed south before the season began.


Which would kind of make them as rare as sea ducks around these parts. There are usually a couple of scoters and long tails (old squaws) seen/shot here each season but darn few. Likewise blue wings. Again, MOST (but not all) teal with blue wings shot here are cinnamon teal hens.


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## roseman (Sep 19, 2011)

I saw a drake BWT this afternoon when I drove past the Day Break pond so I guess there's still a few around.


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## Crndgs8 (Sep 14, 2013)

It's got an olive colored bill, I've just shot myself a black duck!


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Crndgs8 said:


> It's got an olive colored bill, I've just shot myself a black duck!


where's the PICS!!! 8)


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