Duck hunting …again!

Well, I think the ducks are the most birds in the world. What can I say about duck hunting that have never been written before. Have no idea…

But I can summarize the answers and the questions I received in more than 15 years since I guide duck hunting in Romania.

What is the most common hunted duck?

The most hunted duck in Romania is the mallard! The second place is teal. Depending on the season, next places are wigeon and pochard ducks.

When is the best time for duck hunting in Romania?

This question have 2 answers.

First, for the high volume shooters, or for the beginners the best time is the opening of the season. That means, the first week of September. In this time the young and inexperienced birds are a easy target and the old birds are not so spooky as they are in the middle of the season.

The disadvantage of opening season is that the birds are not in full plumage. In fact you can barely make the difference between a male and a female. Also the mosquitoes can be very annoying, especially if you don’t use repellents sprays.

Another best period is November. When in November? If you asked me this question 10 years ago, I would answer beginning of November when the migration is started. But nowadays because of the global warming, the ducks from the north countries are coming later, I would say middle of November, maybe even a little later. Good plumage and different species of ducks are the advantage of this period.

What species of ducks should I expect to see or/and hunt in Romania?

Starting with end of December, beginning of January in our best area for different duck species, Suhaia lake and his delta(more details here: https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2066 ), you can expect to see following species: mallard, canard colvert, stockente, germano reale (anas platyrhynchos); teal, sarcelle d’hiver, krickente, alzavola (anas crecca); wigeon, canard siffleur, pfeifente, fischione(anas penelope);
pochard, fuligule milouin, tafelente, moriglione (aythya ferina); garganey, sarcelle d’ete, knakente, marzaiola (anas querquedula); pintail, canard pilet, spiesente, codone(anas acuta); shoveler, canard souchet, loffelente, mestolone(anas clypeata); gadwall, canard chipeau, schnatterente, canapiglia(anas strepera); goldeneye, garrot a oeil d’or, scheellente, quattrocchi(bucephala clangula); red creasted pochard, nette rousse, kolbenente, fistione turco(netta rufina); ferruginous duck, fuligule nyroca, moorente, moretta tabaccata(aythya nyroca); greater scaup, fuligule milouinan, bergente, moretta grigia(aythya marila); tufted duck, fuligule morillon, reiherente, moretta(aythya fuligula); shelduck, tadorne de belon, branhgans, volpoca(tadorna tadorna); ruddy shelduck, todorne casarca, rostgans, casarca(tadorna ferruginea).

How many hunters we will be in a blind?

For duck hunting the answer is simple, we always put 2 hunters in a blind. For geese hunting the answer is a little more complicated and we will write a whole article about this next week.

Two hunters, because most of the birds will come in groups and 2 hunters will shoot 2 times more birds as one hunter. At least in theory;-)

Every lake or river have so called hot areas, where ducks likes to gather together or places where they fly around.

Another reason is to minimizing disturbance. All ducks are sensitive to disturbance, especially during the hunting season. Putting two hunters in a blind, reduces the overall disturbance in the area. This allows ducks to feel more at ease and increases the likelihood of ducks coming closer to the blind for a shot or more…

One more reason that we set 2 hunters in a blind for duck hunting in Romania: It is important to leave parts of the lake or river undisturbed in order to provide a safe and peaceful environment for the ducks. By limiting the number of hunters in a blind, you can minimize the impact on the surrounding habitat, ensuring that the area remains attractive to ducks throughout the whole season.

Last but not least reason is having fun, a joke or a successful high shot are not so fun when you are alone in the blind.

Why you hunt only in the morning and not in the evening also?

We preferred to hunt in the morning rather than the evening because ducks tend to be more active and responsive to calls and decoys during the early hours of the day. Additionally, hunting in the morning allows hunters to take advantage of the birds’ feeding patterns and their movements from roosting areas to feeding grounds.

Duck hunting in the evening will scare the birds much more that morning duck hunting will do it. If the ducks are scared in the evening they will leave the area for more safer places.
For avid hunter that are not exhausted from very early morning wake up, we can provide afternoon hunt for other species depending on the season, quails, doves, pheasants, etc