Question for you waterfowlers

[fadetoblack188]

I have heard of a lot of guys feeding the ducks to other wild life to kinda of " keep it in nature." And this way you no someone is enjoying it

[greybeard]

"Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms" (Josey Wales).. Sorry, it just made me think of that

[LI OUTDOORSMAN]

By the time the ducks get to Long Island theyve been feeding on salt bays and snails and god knows what..It takes an aquired taste to keep them down.The best way we have found to justify killing a blackduck or brant is to brine the breasts overnight and put them up in a smoker for an hour or so.Somehow it makes them not taste like duck..sliced thin and eaten in a cold duck blind they actually are a real treat.

Having said that the best eating ducks we ever had was when we took a trip to Quebec and hunted ducks on the St. Lawrence river and surrounding marshes.These birds were raised on freshwater and corn fields and by far were the best tastiing waterfowl!

By the way I tried cooking the brant and feeding it to the dog...no go!

He would much prefer to eat them raw when we aint looking!!!

[fadetoblack188]

Haha ^ I no someone who feeds them to racoons and foxes and coyotes. He says.. " they gotta eat to "

[mike rossi]

You should be aware of this: http://definitions.uslegal.com/w/wanton-waste/

 

[fadetoblack188]

I personally have never wasted. I do my best to cover the taste up and eat it

[mike rossi]

Another thing: If you do give away any migratory bird you must tag it with your personal information, including your hunting license number the date, and the personal info of the person you gave it to. You need to leave a wing or head attached to each bird and itemize the species and if ducks the sex as well, on the tag. Probably a good idea to include your HIP number too.  

 

As a matter of fact you are not supposed to even leave migratory birds with a hunting partner and then hunt semi separately in the field unless tagged. Someone on face book was beaching about a $700 or $800 fine for this last fall. They left in separate vehicles and the other dude didn't want his birds. It was opening day and he was over the possession limit. He explained this and in return he got an explanation of the laws he broke and a ticket...

Edited January 7, 2014 by mike rossi

[fadetoblack188]

This is good info thanks mike. I wanted to take the birds I do not eat to the local soup kitchen. Now I know to tag with my info .

[mike rossi]

I personally have never wasted. I do my best to cover the taste up and eat it

 

You don't make it taste good  by trying to cover up the taste, get a cookbook or go online. My wife never uses heavy marinades or any crap like that... I am not the cook around here, but I am told you don't cook duck or goose like poultry, but like beef...

 

Hunting is a haven for BS, always has been, perhaps publicizing waterfowl was not good to eat was actually a conservation effort back in the days following the era when so many were killed by market hunters they were depleted? (Think about it: they were depleted by market hunters to supply grocers and restaurants - how bad do you think they actually taste)?

 

To the guy that went to Quebec, and found the birds tasted better, I was wondering if you did the cooking at home but the guide service did the cooking in Canada?

 

The diet of brant is 80% eelgrass. Canvasbacks, which are divers, are considered to be the best eating duck. Cans eat a lot of sago pondweed, but they also eat a lot of eelgrass and its close relative which grows in less saline waters, the wild celery.

 

I am not on a mission to promote waterfowl hunting and bring in more hunters - Robertson already ducked that up... But it sounds like you and others think hunters don't eat ducks and geese/brant. Not true, and in the opinion of many waterfowlers, they are good eating and do not require heavy marinades or whatever. You might be short changing yourself on one of the great things about waterfowling if you don't eat them...

 

[k burke]

Personally, I think what a lot of people call "gamey tasting" is really just a matter of their taste buds being used to crappy grain fed beef and poultry.  I feel like they have little if any flavor compared to free range animals and then whatever flavor may be left is cut down on even more by the bleach / ammonia washes we do here in the US.  Cousins from Australia couldn't believe how tasteless the beef was here compared to home where they're all pretty much grass fed.

 

I think canada goose breasts are very good - no marinade, just fried or grilled with some salt and pepper - tastes like good beef to me.  The legs / thighs are another matter for some reason - those I gave to my chinese friend and otherwise will or feed to the dog.

 

Ducks - i haven't got that many but the mallards I got weren't bad just probably need to eat a few more or will try making jerky.

 

I don't shoot it if I don't like eating it - or know someone who does.

[LI OUTDOORSMAN]

When we went to Quebec we stayed in cottages on the river with full kitchens and brought all the cooking fixins with us..we cooked all our own kills.

We eat everything

deer,turkeys,rabbits,pheasants,hogs,woodcock,ducks,geese,etc,

its just that if I was hungry and all the game was prepared on a table the wild duck from here on our marshes would be the last plate I grab.Trust me I've eaten many a brant,blackduck or mallard..been at this game over 30 yrs of hunting...I was raised on the bay...

As far as the 80% eelgrass diet of the brant...Here where we hunt on the West End there is not much eelgrass to speak of just seaweed / sea lettuce  and as soon as they start getting heavily shot at they will switch to feeding on school fields and golf courses with all the fertilizer and what not...not a very good diet to produce a flavorful bird.

I no longer shoot mergansers,buffleheads,broadbills,etc..Will not shoot anything I dont intend to eat.

In hunting as in life I say to each his own!

 

 

[greybeard]

The law says that you can't waste ducks which includes merganzers,, the State says you should not eat  any Megansers because they are contaminated... The limit of 6 ducks includes merganzers...So you  shoot a few,retrieve them, bring them home and throw them away

Maybe that situation is not covered in the definition , but  in reality, if you shoot a few merganzers, and you shouldn't eat them isn't that a waste.

What could the intent of the law be?.. I'm not looking for the answer, it just struck me as odd.

[mike rossi]

The law says that you can't waste ducks which includes merganzers,, the State says you should not eat  any Megansers because they are contaminated... The limit of 6 ducks includes merganzers...So you  shoot a few,retrieve them, bring them home and throw them away

Maybe that situation is not covered in the definition , but  in reality, if you shoot a few merganzers, and you shouldn't eat them isn't that a waste.

What could the intent of the law be?.. I'm not looking for the answer, it just struck me as odd.

 

The intent of the law is that wildlife is not to be used for target practice. Read up on the North American Conservation Model.

[mike rossi]

When we went to Quebec we stayed in cottages on the river with full kitchens and brought all the cooking fixins with us..we cooked all our own kills.

We eat everything

deer,turkeys,rabbits,pheasants,hogs,woodcock,ducks,geese,etc,

its just that if I was hungry and all the game was prepared on a table the wild duck from here on our marshes would be the last plate I grab.Trust me I've eaten many a brant,blackduck or mallard..been at this game over 30 yrs of hunting...I was raised on the bay...

As far as the 80% eelgrass diet of the brant...Here where we hunt on the West End there is not much eelgrass to speak of just seaweed / sea lettuce  and as soon as they start getting heavily shot at they will switch to feeding on school fields and golf courses with all the fertilizer and what not...not a very good diet to produce a flavorful bird.

I no longer shoot mergansers,buffleheads,broadbills,etc..Will not shoot anything I dont intend to eat.

In hunting as in life I say to each his own!

 

So the tone of the OP is that he believes that all waterfowl, regardless of species or diet tastes terrible. Many others on here have expressed the exact same belief, including eating Canadas and snows. How do you respond to them?

[Vince1]

man, I been on and off about duck hunting, wife finally kinda maybe coming around bout getting a shotgun to go with me   but If I cant eat it kinda blows for me.

 

guess I will take the bow out and see if I can take one see how a wild one tastes.

[Elmo]

Please watch this.

http://www.travelchannel.com/video/preparing-duck-in-the-ozarks-11715

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mike rossi]

Please watch this. http://www.travelchannel.com/video/preparing-duck-in-the-ozarks-11715 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Good for the info, but hunters on a show like the travel channel which most viewers don't hunt showing hunters talking about crapping and what not, not good...

 

Also: sooner or later someone will hear a waterfowler say he "recycled" a duck... That does NOT mean he threw it out. In Waterfowler's lingo  recycling is shooing and eating a bird... That is why you see some waterfowl apparel with the triangle recycling symbol...

[pistolp71]

Wish he would have said what he put on it.

[BornToHunt]

I live on Long Island and have duck/goose hunted here and upstate. In my opinion the waterfowl upstate taste alot better than here on the Island. Waterfowl down here tastes very fishy - not for me.

[mike rossi]

I live on Long Island and have duck/goose hunted here and upstate. In my opinion the waterfowl upstate taste alot better than here on the Island. Waterfowl down here tastes very fishy - not for me.

 

Are you taking into consideration the species of ducks you are taking upstate versus Long Island? I am not sure that it is true that ducks which eat primarily plants switch to a predominantly animal/fish diet and vice versa. Not even because of migration. There may be some exception to that, but right now I cant think of any duck that is such an exception. Geese are not known to forage fish or animals, although I am sure they would take fish-based commercial feed and if people are feeding them somewhere that may explain it.

[mike rossi]

Maybe this will help... It can be as simple or as complicated as you want to delve into it. I will first give you some quick, practical information. If you want to delve into the reasons, I will follow with somewhat technical information, in case you are interested.

Swans and the goose family which includes brant are herbivores or plant eaters. Nearly all ducks are omnivores or eat both plant-based and animal-based diets. Within the omnivores the ratio of plant to animal in the diet varies by species. It is not true that all diving ducks eat mostly animal based diets. It varies among species. The shoveler, which may not fit in either category, does eat mostly invertebrates, and although considered to not be good eating, actually is a good tasting duck. Waterfowl bag limits are structured such that it is necessary to know how to identify ducks in order to comply with the law. Knowing how to identify ducks, along with knowledge of each species foraging habits allows you to selectively hunt for the birds more desirable for the table. Another factor can be the age of the bird itself. Waterfowl often live over 25 years. You can’t discern age in the field beyond one year or so, but you often can determine if the bird is “hatch year” or not . It actually is a little tricky with waterfowl compared to other birds because of their unique molting process. However, if you want to be a real stickler and really exaggerate things, you can cook up the birds likely to be hatch year and use the others to make jerky…  You should derive from what I just said that the bad taste of waterfowl is an exaggeration. They are not “greasy” either. I don’t even know if the older birds are tougher or less desirable and have not noticed a difference myself.  Furthermore: “crows do not taste like wild duck”… That statement was made by someone who never ate either and I heard it alluded to in this very forum…

Swans, as well as geese (including brant which are geese); are almost obligatory plant eaters. I say almost because I am aware of a photograph of captive young snow geese devouring mosquitoes. On the other hand, most omnivorous birds, and most ducks are that, eat animal based diets during reproductive and molting life cycle stages, which occur outside of hunting seasons. In winter waterfowl tend to favor foods high in carbohydrates because energy demands are high. The canvasback for example, a diving duck which diet consists of only 20% animal-based food becomes almost 100% PLANT-BASED in the winter.

Addressing the belief that seasonal changes in diet effect the taste of birds during hunting season... Diet certainly does vary during the hunting season; however, local foraging movements and seasonal migration patterns must track plant growth and phenology to maximize rates of nutrient intake from foliage. We are not talking about food availability due to drought, acorn failure, or similar events when waterfowl must find alternate food sources. That is different and obviously if such events occurs during hunting season birds will adapt their foraging behavior.

On Long Island, because of the tide water, birds may eat different foods at different times of the day. This occurs in non-tidal water as well, but it is a fair guess that shifting tides might contribute to this behavior where tides occur. If birds are feeding on animals, they need to forage for food when their prey is active. Although it is very common for waterfowl to feed nocturnally, the relationship between the tides and time of day might add even another twist.

 

Learning the foraging preferences of ducks, to identify them, and shooting selectively goes along way. I caution, however against old husbands tales. Geese and Northern Shoveler ducks for example are some of the best eating waterfowl, yet rumored to taste bad. Another example is a generalization that diving ducks taste bad; however, the canvasback is a diving duck and has been considered the best eating waterfowl since the days of market hunting.

Besides knowing your ducks (which actually is required to comply with restricted bag limits), you can field dress a bird and not only examine what it is currently eating, but what it has been eating recently. What the bird has been eating for two weeks may have more a bearing on flavor than what it ate just before you shot it or yesterday. You can get a clue by examining its gizzard.

The gizzard will adapt to changes in a bird's diet by increasing or decreasing in size. Waterfowl species that consistently feed on harder food items like mollusks and hard-cased seeds will have a larger gizzard than species that consistently forage on softer food items. But the gizzard also grows larger when individual birds shift to a diet rich in hard foods. Think of the gizzard as being like your bicep muscles. If you use them more, by lifting heavy weights for example, they will grow larger in size. Similarly, the muscular gizzard of waterfowl will grow with increased use caused by frequent consumption of foods that are hard to break down.  After you clean enough ducks of a particular species, you will get an idea for the average gizzard size and will notice changes in size. This is not saying compare the gizzard of an eider or even a scaup with a mallard. It is saying that if the mallards you killed today have a noticeably larger gizzard than mallards you killed a few days ago it may be linked to feeding on animal – based foods…. However, it could also be linked to feeding on  acorns or corn which being quite hard could enlarge the gizzard the same way shell fish does.

Most ducks are indeed omnivores, however the proportion of animal-based foods to plant – based foods vary among species. If you learn about your ducks you can shoot selectively. Even though ducks will change their diet, they historically use the same migration routes and travel corridors which put them in habitat where their preferred foods are. For example, a mallard prefers plant based foods. They may become obligated to eat a diet which is more heavily composed of animal matter than they prefer due to an event such as mast failure or drought, etc., but their established travel routes and local ranges are chosen because in normal years the preferred food, not the alternate food, is abundant.

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2014 by mike rossi

[mike rossi]

This might help...

 

Diet

Geese:

Canada: Plant

Snow: Plant

Brant: eel grass plant in winter

White Fronted ; mainly plant

Emperor: mussels and other shellfish

 

Swans:

Trumpeter: plant

Tundra: plant

Mute: plant

 

Ducks: A generalization can be made that ducks forage on animal-based foods during the reproductive season and during molt.

Mallards: Mostly plant, but will consume animals

Black: both plant and animal, known to frequent tidal areas more than other puddle ducks and often forage on mollusks and insects

Gadwall: 98% plant diet in fall and winter

American Widgeon: Eat mostly plants, however “are not a preferred table bird”

Pintail: mostly plant, some animal, about the same diet as mallards

Green Winged Teal: mostly plant some animal, considered one of the best table birds, despite only weighing an average of 11 ounces.

Blue Winged Teal: excellent table bird, weighs 13 ounces, mostly plant, but eats more animal food than green winged teals.

Shoveller: large bill adapted to skimming the water surface, they forage for small plant seeds and animals. Reputed to be a poor table bird, not only in flavor but in the texture of the meat. However, many hunters disagree and favor them as table birds.

Wood Duck: mostly plant, especially during hunting season. Very good table bird

Ruddy Duck: Mostly plant during hunting season, it is considered a diving duck.

Redhead: diver, 90% plant diet

Canvasback: 80% plant diet, diver, considered top table bird

Ring necked; diver, 80% plant diet

Scaup (lesser and greater) divers, diet is 50% plant and 50% animal. Mollusks make up most of the animal part of their diet.

Common Goldeneye: diver, 75% of diet is animal based.

Bufflehead: diver, 80% of diet is animal

Long Tail: Considered a “sea duck”. 90% of its diet is animal-based.

Scoters (common, surf, and white winged) considered sea ducks. 90% of diet is animal.

Eiders: sea duck, eats animal based diet

Mergansers: animal – based diet

[mike rossi]

Personally, I think what a lot of people call "gamey tasting" is really just a matter of their taste buds being used to crappy grain fed beef and poultry.  I feel like they have little if any flavor compared to free range animals and then whatever flavor may be left is cut down on even more by the bleach / ammonia washes we do here in the US.  Cousins from Australia couldn't believe how tasteless the beef was here compared to home where they're all pretty much grass fed.

 

I think canada goose breasts are very good - no marinade, just fried or grilled with some salt and pepper - tastes like good beef to me.  The legs / thighs are another matter for some reason - those I gave to my chinese friend and otherwise will or feed to the dog.

 

Ducks - i haven't got that many but the mallards I got weren't bad just probably need to eat a few more or will try making jerky.

 

I don't shoot it if I don't like eating it - or know someone who does.

 

I noticed this too. I don't know if there is truth to the idea of "acquired taste" or not. The more game I eat, the less I like grocery meat. It by comparison is flavorless, boring, and it is store bought chicken, not herbivorous waterfowl, which I occasionally taste the fish-based commercial feed they are fed. I guess 500,000 NY deer hunters who eat venison may not enjoy the variety that 300,000 NY small game hunters do. The proportion of that 300,000 small game hunters who hunt waterfowl and webless migratory game birds such as mourning doves, rails, snipe, woodcock, and even crows cooked with care, enjoy an even more interesting menu...

 

A lot of satisfaction is derived from providing your own meal, especially when you hunt strategically opposed to opportunistically. Plus you know, that although wildlife, like people and farm animals, do accumulate toxins from the environment; that the meat is free of hormones, antibiotics, unnatural foods and crowded conditions inherent with grocery bought meats, which react with the animal and are proven to produce serious disease in people who eat them; and by hunting you doing your part in decreasing your carbon footprint....

[Elmo]

Wish he would have said what he put on it.

 

This seems like a nice recipe.  Looking at the pictures, it looks delicious!

 

http://themeateater.com/2014/braised-duck-in-sweet-guinness-honey-sauce/

[robw]

I eat whatever I get, and agree that they vary in taste, but most are pretty good.  The biggest problem I find with duck and goose is that too many people overcook it.  Wild fowl should be cooked rare, and cooking it well done changes the texture and makes it taste like liver.  I've had chowder made that simmered too long and ruined the duck that was in it.  A little pink in the goose fingers I make leaves them delicious, cook a few minutes too long, they go downhill fast