# wood ducks down



## trophyslayer (Dec 31, 2011)

This morning was great... hunted some flooded timber that has been dry all year so it was a nice change from the open water weve been doing. shot 6 and found 4. Let me ask ya'll this... have you ever heard of a duck drowning himself? i was going to pick up a winged bird and he went bottoms up swam down and never came back up... this is about 4 feet of water so i couldnt feel around for him with my hands but we never could find it with our feet. i have heard that the will swim down, bite a limb,root, grass etc. and drown themselves but this is the only experience i think i have ever had with one actually doing it. either way it was a great morning. i had a first this morning as well... i double with 1 shot! black cloud number 3 is lethal.. Xs 2


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## nowigeon (Dec 31, 2011)

you are now a duck god , even if you fell(pimp down). good job


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## trophyslayer (Dec 31, 2011)

lol... thanks nowigeon


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## tpecho (Dec 31, 2011)

yeah wood ducks will dive down and hold on to roots or something till they die. Thats what i have been told


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## trophyslayer (Dec 31, 2011)

so i am not the only one who has heard that... that makes me feel better about loosin that one this morning


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## northeastassasign (Jan 1, 2012)

Yep i have heard of it and seen it happen once


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## dukslayer10 (Jan 1, 2012)

Yeah I have seen Woodducks do it and also Divers such as Ringnecks and Mergansers. I have seen them many times do this.


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## crow (Jan 1, 2012)

All the waterfowl biologists that I know say a duck will not drown itself on purpose.  But, they are well known to dive under grass, roots, etc., to hide and get hung up and drown...kinda by accident.  It's happened too many times for me to count.  Hard to find them in a swamp of deep water of any kind.  Last dog I had got pretty good at finding them and ducking under the water to find some of them.


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## HALOJmpr (Jan 1, 2012)

I've had it happen with redheads too.  Congrats on the hunt!


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## The Fever (Jan 1, 2012)

I dont think they dive till they drown...I think lots of times they are wounded and have just enough energy to grab on and then expire under the surface either attached or stuck...had it happen often...sometimes walking around in the area will knock them to the surface...if you ever see one dive hold still and you can see the bubbles are...


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## trophyslayer (Jan 1, 2012)

thanks for the advise fever... i kinda thought that to be the case myself about them not doing it on purpose... i figured if they swam down and grabbed something then died they wont float back up because of their curved back teeth.


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## The Fever (Jan 1, 2012)

it doesent work every time trophy slayer....the best solution is shoot better lol this plan doesent always work well...I missed every bird but one saturday...


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## deepsouthman (Jan 10, 2012)

*Today*

This morning.


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## deepsouthman (Jan 10, 2012)

You boys gonna pull them irons or whistle Dixe?


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## The Fever (Jan 10, 2012)

deepsouthman said:


> This morning.



Did you do all the shooting for. Slayer?? Lol


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## trophyslayer (Jan 10, 2012)

lol... not sure why you put that on my thread deepsouth but good lookin drake woodies... do i know you or something???


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## The Fever (Jan 10, 2012)

trophyslayer said:


> lol... not sure why you put that on my thread deepsouth but good lookin drake woodies... do i know you or something???



So the answer is yes!


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## deepsouthman (Jan 10, 2012)

Just checking out the threads to see if anyone is having luck. It has been a tough season so far. I'm still hunting beaver ponds in January.


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## Wastin Bullets (Jan 10, 2012)

I have had 3 wood ducks dive on me this year.. not sure if they maybe popped up somewhere else and I couldn't see them or what....


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## deepsouthman (Jan 10, 2012)

Last three seasons the divers were here by now, not the case this year hope they make down before the season is out. Only shooting resident mallards and wood ducks so far.


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## trophyslayer (Jan 10, 2012)

deepsouthman said:


> Last three seasons the divers were here by now, not the case this year hope they make down before the season is out. Only shooting resident mallards and wood ducks so far.



same here... only migration we saw was opening weekend and that was a group of about 250 that stayed 2 miles up and didnt circle. other than that it has been slow.


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## bnew17 (Jan 11, 2012)

they definitely will dive and drown them selves. had it happen to me many times.


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## builditbreakit (Jan 11, 2012)

We loose about 1/4 of the woodies we kill to either diving or just really fast current every year.  I need all them to, so i get really mad when we loose em.A dog helps in this case but u got to have one and some things friends don't wont to lend ya.


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## jdgator (Jan 11, 2012)

bnew17 said:


> they definitely will dive and drown them selves. had it happen to me many times.



X 2. I see them do it all the time.


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## emusmacker (Jan 11, 2012)

If they drown themselves, won't they float to the top when they die?

I personally do not believe a duck will commit suicide. Why would they?  What do they have to gain? They are going to die anyway, so what advantage do they have of drowning themselves?


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## trophyslayer (Jan 11, 2012)

they say they dont float because their jaw stays clamped down to the grass, stick, branch, whatever that they grab onto when they dive and their backwards curved teeth dont allow them to let go after they die... in my case i know without a doubt it is not a situation where they could have swam away so this is the only explanation for it. i to think it is strange but who knows.


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## emusmacker (Jan 11, 2012)

Who is "they" that you keep referring to?  

I've had wood ducks and divers to dive and never reappear but I seriously doubt they commit suicide. Also didn't know ducks had teeth.   Maybe I just never payed that much attention.


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## nickf11 (Jan 11, 2012)

Good hunt trophy slayer. 

Yes, I have seen them dive down and never pop back up before. My grandpa used to say that they would dive down and either drown themselves or they would bite/grab ahold of something or get stuck in something and never come back up. It's happened to me 4 times this year, all with woodies.  I never believed him until I saw it myself.


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## trophyslayer (Jan 11, 2012)

emusmacker said:


> Who is "they" that you keep referring to?
> 
> I've had wood ducks and divers to dive and never reappear but I seriously doubt they commit suicide. Also didn't know ducks had teeth.   Maybe I just never payed that much attention.



everyone on here that has responded with the same findings that i have. and yes they have teeth... they are actually pretty cool lookin. like i said... i find it strange as well... if you dont think its possible then thats fine. but when they never reappear what do you think happened to them? alligator? swamp black hole?.....just being sarcastic


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## GeorgiaDuckBuster (Jan 11, 2012)

I ain't never had it happen to me except with divers. My solution would be if you wound one, water swat em asap. Had to do that a time or two, really makes the most since ethically speaking, killem quick by what ever that means.


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## emusmacker (Jan 11, 2012)

Never said they didn't dive and grab onto something, just that they don't willinly commit suicide. I've had it done before, and if I knew the answer then I would give you the answer, but as of right now, it's all speculation.


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## Gasportsj7 (Jan 14, 2012)

you like that buck gardner call?


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## The Fever (Jan 14, 2012)

No teeth on ducks bro. Just serrations...FYI


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## Public Land Prowler (Jan 14, 2012)

The first UT-OH is when you see a bird falling with its head held high..When they hit they will go under and try to swim to cover.I do not know if they bite on to something or hang up,but I know that if they resurface you better spray em again,and if they dont they either hung up and died or made it to some cover nearby.They dont have gills..lol


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