A turn of events

So i decided to try a new part of a river to see if i could smack a couple of ducks. As I'm walking I find riverside what I think is a dead Merganser which i find weird why its there. I started hunting and managed a nice drake wood duck and a fat mallard. Seconds later I have a C.O question me and wanting to see my ducks and documents. After realizing everything is legal he tells me he's looking for some poachers that he had some complaints about. I then tell him about the duck riverside, and he takes it to investigate. Do you guys think the poacher shot and left the merganser or is it common to find these things dead. I haven't seen this bird before but I think its a Merganser what do you guys think?

Could be a common merganser hen. Plenty of people think they taste bad and I have found dead ones at the side of a pond before.

So it looks like people shoot them by mistake and leave them.

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Originally Posted by Cintax

Could be a common merganser hen. Plenty of people think they taste bad and I have found dead ones at the side of a pond before.

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No, it's a hen Hooded Merganser.

I've eated Hoodies many times, and found them much more enjoyable than commons.

-Nick

Is it legal to shoot these things

Yes it is and they should have been included in someone's bag limit.....assuming they could have found it.

I would of took it if I new how old it was.

Could be a number of things. Could even just be a dead duck from "natural" causes (Unlikely but possible). Could have been a light cripple from somewhere else that died there. Could be a cripple that couldn't be found/retrieved. Given that it's a merganser though I think the most likely scenario is someone didn't want it to count, or just didn't want it.

Was it shot?

I saw a bit of blood near its wing so most likely shot. If something bit it, it would of been eaten for sure.

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Originally Posted by Sprite

No, it's a hen Hooded Merganser.

I've eated Hoodies many times, and found them much more enjoyable than commons.

-Nick

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My first thought was hooded hen but I hedged. Darn.

Hooded merganser hen or juvenile.
Despicable for someone to shoot and not keep.

Not as tasty as a mallard or teal but...
They are perfectly good to eat especially in an Asian stir fry, casserole, sausage

yup it's a merganser. and it should be included in someones bag limit for the day. but because they have a bad rap about how they taste some people [notice I said people not hunters] like to shot them just for target practice.

A lot of assumptions being made here. My bet is it was a lost cripple.

S.

I have no issues with their taste. in fact some have tasted better than a few bufflehead I have tried. It all is about diet really.

W.

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Originally Posted by Sinker

A lot of assumptions being made here. My bet is it was a lost cripple.

S.

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Maybe.
But the original post starts with a story about poaching and a CO investigating.
So the natural thing to do is to link the two parts of the story

May have been a lost / crippled bird but it still has to be included in your bag for the day......

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Originally Posted by Goosechsr

May have been a lost / crippled bird but it still has to be included in your bag for the day......

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It does? I know that's the gentlemanly thing to do, but I don't think it has to be.

Also, I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt. Someone shot it, it dove , grabbed on to something under-water and held on until it died and eventually floated to shore. I've lost many a diver and puddle duck that never re-surfaced after diving (also didn't count them in my daily limit).