Some hunters
may not realize that communication among ducks and geese is a
combination of sound, body posture and action. The meaning of a call
may be more related to body posture and action than to the sound of
the call. Because it is difficult to duplicate body posture and
action you need to understand the call in order to correctly
recreate it. According to waterfowl researcher Dr. Jim Cooper there
are two major factors that determine the meaning of a duck or goose
call; the frequency and intensity of the call. There are two other
factors that determine the difference between different species and
subspecies of ducks and geese; the pitch and duration of the
individual notes of the calls.
The frequency
or tempo (speed) with which a duck or goose calls is related to the
action of the bird; the faster the motion of the duck or goose, the
faster the call. The calling of a duck or goose on land or water is
related to how fast it is moving. The calling of a duck or goose in
the air is related to the downbeat of the wing stroke, which is when
the duck or goose contracts its chest muscles and exhales. When a
goose is calling on the ground to keep the family in contact it
calling is slow. When a goose is flying, the calling is directly
related to the downbeat of the wing stroke, which is when the goose
contracts it chest muscles and exhales. When a goose is flying in
formation its call is a slow, measured honk. When a goose is pumping
its wings rapidly during takeoff or landing it calling is fast. Fast
calls are a sign of a rapidly moving duck or goose.
The intensity
(loudness) of the call is related to the mood of the duck or goose.
The more anxious, excited, irritated or nervous the duck or goose is
the louder the call is; taking off, landing, threatening and
attacking are situations that may cause a duck to become anxious,
which causes loud calling. If a goose is attacking another goose its
calling is louder than if it is just threatening. Mating,
threatening, attacking, landing and taking off are all intense times
for ducks and geese, and their calling is often louder than normal
at those times.
When a female
duck uses a quack to keep the family together while she's feeding
the call is usually soft and slow. When the quack is used to keep
the family together while flying the call is louder and faster. When
the quack is used to get the family back together after it has been
separated, or by a lone duck trying to locate its family or a flock
in the air, the call is louder. When the quack is used as a hen
jumps into the air after being alarmed it is loud and fast. When a
hen uses a chuckle on the water the call is loud and slow, because
the duck is not moving fast. When a hen uses the chuckle in the air
the call is faster, because the duck is beating its wings rapidly.
When Remember this when you are calling; loud calls may be a sign of
an excited duck or goose, or a lost duck or goose.
The pitch
(musical tone) of the call, and the duration (length) of the notes
of the call, are related to the size of the duck or goose. Generally
speaking, the larger the species of duck or goose, the larger its
chest cavity is, and the deeper the pitch of its call. And,
generally speaking, the larger the species of duck or goose, the
longer its wing are, the slower it beats its wings, the longer the
notes of its call, and the slower the timing (rapidity) of the
individual notes of its call. Although Teal and Mallards use the
same basic decrescendo call, the Mallard decrescendo is lower in
pitch, and the individual notes are longer and slower than the
decrescendo call of the Teal. The call of a giant Canada goose
consists of low pitched, long notes, that are medium spaced;
herr-onk … herr-onk. The call of a small cackling Canada goose
consists of high pitched, short notes that are quick paced; unc...
unc. A study of Barnacle geese suggests that geese within that
species, that have wider mouths, have higher pitched calls than
geese with narrower mouths. This may be another reason why smaller
subspecies of geese have higher pitched calls than larger subspecies
of geese.
During the
fall most puddle duck hens of the genus Anas (Mallard, Black
Duck, Gadwall, Blue-Winged Teal, Green-Winged Teal, Widgeon and
Shoveler) use three calls: the Social Contact call, the Decrescendo
call and the Incitement call. Drakes of these species use a deeper
version of Social Contact call for social contact and as a Mating
call.
The Social
Contact call is used by a hen to keep the family together, it is
also used by hens to make other ducks aware of their presence. The
hens of most puddle duck species use a slow, shortened version of
their Decrescendo call as a Social Contact call; Mallard hens use a
simple quack. This call may contain one or more drawn out notes
spaced evenly apart; quaack...quaack...quaack. To imitate
this call cup your hand over the barrel of the call like you were
holding a bottle, and say quack. Your hand should remain cupped
while you say the qua portion of the call; open your fingers
on the ack.
The
Decrescendo call is used by hens to announce a willingness to pair
bond; it may also be used by hens as general conversation. Although
breeding doesn't usually occur until spring, the hens use the
Decrescendo when they begin forming pair bonds in the fall.
The Decrescendo call sounds just like its Latin name implies; it
starts out loud and becomes quieter as the duck runs out of air. The
decrescendo of the hen Mallard is often referred to by hunters as
the hail, high ball, or greeting call. It usually consists of five
to ten notes, with the second note being the loudest and each
successive note being softer. But it may be longer; I have heard a
hen Mallard string seventeen quacks together while performing the
decrescendo. To correctly perform this call the first note should be
loud (and can be long), with each of the following notes becoming
softer quaack-quack-quack-quack-quack-quack. Most callers
leave their hand open while performing this call. Eli and Rod Haydel,
of Haydel's Game Calls, use a variation of this call with an
exaggerated, drawn out first note as a pleading call; and a sharper,
more insistent version as a comeback call; quaaack-quack-quack-quack-quack-quack.
My favorite calls for hen Mallard sounds are Haydel's DC-87 Double
Reed Cutback Mallard, DR-85 Double Reed Mallard and the AD-98
Acrylic Duck.
The hen Black
Duck, Pintail and Shoveler use approximately the same Decrescendo
call, and the same pitch as the mallard. The hen Widgeon uses a
qua-awk; with 1 to 3 notes. For all of these ducks I use
Haydel's BVD-96 Variable Tone Mallard. The hen Gadwall uses the same
call, but with a higher pitch; for Gadwalls I use Haydel's GW-01
Gadwall Call. Blue-Wing Teal and Cinnamon Teal use a high pitched
quack with 3 to 4 notes, and the last two notes are usually cut
off short. For teal I use Haydel's BT-85 Blue Wing and Cinnamon Teal
call, which recreates the higher pitched sounds of the hens of those
species.
Agonistic
calls are named for the fact that the animal is agonizing, or
arguing. The Incitement call is used by the hen to get her mate to
drive another drake away from her; it is a threat call, with the hen
telling another duck that if it doesn't leave her alone it may be
attacked by her mate. The Incitement call used by hen puddle ducks
is usually an insistent rapid call consisting of several short notes
The Incitement call of the hen Mallard is referred to as the chuckle
or feeding chuckle by hunters. The first time I really began to
understand how Mallards used the chuckle was about ten years ago
while I was sitting at the small lake near my home feeding geese
with my kids; I heard the call and saw a hen mallard feeding with
the geese. But, she wasn't feeding she was chasing away a drake
mallard. It was quite obvious that the hen was using the chuckle as
a form of threat call. I often hear this call in the spring, when
two or more drakes are pursuing a hen Mallard in flight.
Although the
chuckle is not a feeding call, it does occur in feeding situations,
where there are lots of drakes near the hens. In order for the hens
to keep from being harassed by single drakes they perform the
chuckle (telling other drakes that if they don't stay away they may
be attacked by the hen's mate). In order to be able to feed or swim
in peace the hens use this call to try to get the drakes to leave
them alone. Since ducks often hear the chuckle while they are
feeding, or as they approach ducks that are feeding (whether they
are on land or water), this call can be used to attract most puddle
ducks.
When you use
the chuckle to bring in ducks, blow it as it is meant, loud,
insistent and aggressive. Do not blow it like a welcome to incoming
ducks, or as a pleading call to get other ducks to come down and
feed. To imitate the sound of a hen performing this call in flight,
cup one or both hands over the end of the call, and rapidly say
ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka while you blow into the call. To imitate
the sound of a hen performing this call while on land or water I say
tuck, tuck-tuck, tuck, tuck, tuck-tuck. I cup both hands over
the call, and alternately open the fingers and thumb of the hand
that is not holding the call, to create the impression of different
sounds coming from different directions.
The hen Black
Duck, Gadwall, Shoveler and Widgeon use approximately the same call
and pitch as the hen Mallard. The hen Pintail uses a softer, more
hoarse call, rrrt-rrrt-rrrt. The hen Blue-Winged and
Green-Winged Teal use the same call with a higher pitch. The hen
Wood Duck uses a high-pitched whistle, wheet-wheet-wheet. I
use Haydel's W-81 Wood Duck Squealer and WW-90 Wood Duck Whistle for
recreating the sounds of Wood Ducks.
The drake
mallard Social Contact and Mating call is simply a deeper more reedy
version of the social contact call, usually containing two to four
notes; raeb-raeb-raeb-raeb. I often hear this call when one
or more drakes are pursuing a hen in the air during spring mating
flights, and in large flocks in the fall. I also hear it when drakes
are just resting on water or land. The drake Black Duck uses the
same call as the drake Mallard. The drake Gadwall uses a higher
pitched raeb-zee-zee-raeb-raeb. The drake Pintail uses a high
pitched whistle, and a burp performed with an outstretched neck,
kwa-kwa. The drake Blue-Winged Teal, Green-Winged Teal and
Widgeon use a high pitched whistle. For the sounds of these species
I use Haydel's MP-90 Magnum Pintail/ Mallard Drake call, which you
can use on Pintail, Mallard, Teal and Widgeon. The drake Shoveler
uses a woh-woh-woh, or, took'a-took'a-took'a.
Although
divers are vocal, calling them is not as important as it is for
puddle ducks. When they are hunting divers hunters usually rely on
large numbers of decoys to attract the ducks. Because of the way
divers approach a landing site you don't often have to work them
like puddle ducks that may swing over the decoys several times. When
divers do come in to the decoys, I generally use the inciting call
of a hen Bluebill, because it is louder than the social contact call
of the drake. Once divers commit to landing I put down the call and
grab the gun.
Most diver
duck hens of the genus Aythya (Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup,
Ring-necked Duck, Redhead and Canvasback) perform the incitement
call. Hen Redheads use a soft growled err-err. The hen
Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck use a guttural
arrrr. The hen Canvasback uses a grunted krrr. I imitate
the incitement call of divers by using a mallard call and growling
into it, like I was saying grrr while clearing my throat.
Drake diver
ducks perform the courtship call, which may also be used as a social
contact call. The drake Greater Bluebill, Lesser Bluebill and
Ring-necked Duck use a 2 to 3 note call; scaup-scaup-scaup.
The drake Canvasback uses a grunt or coo. The drake Redhead
uses a catlike me-ow. Use a diver duck call to imitate the
sounds of these species. Before I owned a diver duck call I used a
Mallard call to imitate a drake Bluebill. I said the word scaup
(scowp), while closing my hand over the barrel of the call at the
end of the sound.
This article is an
excerpt from the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual ($14.95 + $5.00 S&H),
by T.R. Michels.
T.R. Michels is a
nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor
writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck
& Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products
are the 2003 Revised Edition of the Whitetail Addict's Manual,
the 2003 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the
2003 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For
a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels,
Trinity Mountain Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA.
Phone: 507-824-3296, E-mail: trmichels@yahoo.com, Website:
www.TRMichels.com
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