Hunted Sunday morning with two others in the DFW area. Got set up a little late (thanks time change) had decent numbers of birds work us all day but they mostly stayed just out of range. Nothing wanted to commit and we took pass shots when we had them. Ended the day with 9, mixed strap of Redheads, Cans, Ringers & Scaup
We had a flight of 3 come in and took 2, the first retrieve was a hen ringer and the second was the Scaup. We've all killed plenty of ringers but it was the first Scaup for any of us. I'm trying to determine if it was a greater or lesser and having trouble doing so.
I don't have pictures (bash away) but going by the range of habitat charts do we enven see Greater Scaup in this area? All the pictures I see on line aren't very helpful. Is there any fool proof way to tell the difference?

**I can id 99% of the ducks I shoot, & my id book is in the mail

Thanks

easiest way to tell the difference on drake scaup is the white stripe down the wings, it only goes half way on the lessers and all the way on the greaters. other detail differences in the head shape, head color and actual size, but you'd need both in front of you to quickly tell the diff.

The Lesser is far more likely. The Greater does winter some in East Texas, but is considered fairly rare in the gulf states. Meanwhile, the Lesser is considered common.

Biologist and rookie's shoot scaup!!! Duck hunters shoot Bluebills and Broadbills.. J/K,

...and some duck hunters don't shoot, scaup, bluebills, or broadbills.

Some hunters call them trash.

Depends on the day my mood and the type of season I am having to what I call em.

Thanks for the help, I kept a wing and will take a look when I get home.

It was my first hunt of the season, any legal bird was getting shot at.

.........and we call those who shoot trash, Topwaters.

If there's nothing else around, my dog calls it "action." She doesn't care what she's retrieving!

the only bird I pass on is #7!!!!

I was on a hunt last year where we had greenheads coming in pretty good and every once in a while a ringneck would zoom over the decoys past me.

Buddy says, "Aren't you going to shoot that ringneck?" I said, "No." but he kept bugging me till I shot but being so fast I shot behind it. I still got a few more greenheads after that miss though.

sandbagger!

I don't really know alot about them but I would just go by the color if the head

More than likely a lesser.

The funny thing is when they start letting you just shoot one bluebill a day all of a sudden it will be a trophy duck. All you effers know it too!!!!!

I just call 'em all ringers, much easier to identify that way.

Will be a sad sad day.

Heck you can only shoot two now!!

+ 1

much more challenging than a mallard floating over the decoys too.

And soaked in salt for a day, you cannot tell the difference in taste between Scaup and a Mallard.

Yea it sucks that most of the divers have restrictions already.

Greaters are almost as big as Canvasbacks. Lessors are just a little bigger than a Ring-neck.