# How common are blue wing teal in Mich?



## Lil' Tanker (Jan 9, 2002)

I puddle jumped some ducks yesterday afternoon and dropped two of them. After retrieving them out of the ditch (in my work clothes) I thought they might be hen woodies. After I looked at them closer i realized they were not woodies and looked like blue wing teal. We have shot mostly green wing and the occational cinnamon but I have never noticed blue wings before.

Is there just as many or are they more rare? I usually concentrate on honkers and am just starting to devesify my resume with differnt duck species.

Still lookin for my buffed out drake woodie to mount.


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## Duckman Racing (Oct 11, 2004)

In my experience Blue Wings are much more common to Michigan than Cinnamon teal. Blue Wings seem to be more common to the east side of the state though, I have never shot one on the west side of the state.


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## HappyHawk (Nov 9, 2004)

We shoot our fair share of BWT usually the first part of the season up in the UP...Middle of the UP to be exact...Delta County. Seems like the BWT push through and then the GWT come through...never seen or shot a Cin-teal.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

I think we shot around 1/2 dozen of them this weekend.

If you shot a Cin. in Michigan, it would be the first I've ever heard of.


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## tdduckman (Jan 17, 2001)

BUT they migrate VERY early 

This is why southern states below Michigan have teal seasons in september because the bulk of of the blue wings are in central america by October 1


If you shot blue wings this late its because of the warm fall we are having. 


I believe that blue wings are the 3rd most common nesting duck in michigan

1) mallard

2) Wood duck

3) blue wing


TD


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## Rat Fink (Feb 20, 2001)

I'll second HappyHawk's statement. I have shot a ton of BWT in the UP. They are always thick on opening weekend.


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## Lil' Tanker (Jan 9, 2002)

Thanks guys it sounds like I had blue wing and cinnemon mixed up as far as how common they are here.

I ate up the green wings we shot over the weekend and they were great tasting. Now that i know these ducks are so common I can get them ready for the table as opposed to the taxadermist.


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## Remnar (Jun 23, 2004)

Blue wings are common but they are outta here on the first really cold night. Cinnamon (SP?) teal are pretty rare for this flyway. The most common mistake I have seen is people calling drake green wings as a cinny. The rusty colored head makes them think they have a cinnamon. A cinny has a body that is all rusty colored.

Would be interested to see a pic of a Michigan killed Cinny.


Remnar


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## idylmoments (Apr 28, 2002)

BWT are the first birds to migrate. If you can get out for the youth hunt in Sept, you'll see literally thousands on Sag Bay. A few stick around for the regular season, but the bulk of them have already migrated south.
I've seen one cinnamon shot on the Bay by a friend and that was 12-13 years ago.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

never seen a cinnamon teal here in 20 years i've hunted :sad: maybe someday


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## sprigdog (Jan 29, 2004)

cinnamon teal (hens) and blue wing (hens) are about as close to identical as a duck species can get. BWT are extremely common in Mi, but like everyone has said they are the first bird to depart. I've been told that some leave as early as end of August. All those southern states that get an early teal season in Sept are shooting teal raised in the north country. 
About the best way to tell the diff tween a bwt hen and a cin hen is where it was shot. 95% of all cin are shot west of the rockies and 95% of bwt's are shot east of the rockies.
Disclaimer: i do not have scientific evidence to support this, yes cin teal are shot every year in the Miss flyway, but................thats where my 5% comes in. GWT's are a much hardier bird. They will come down with mallards and stick around until ice pushes them out.


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## Bow Hunter Brandon (Jan 15, 2003)

I have shot more GWT then BWT in MI and more BWT in Ohio. But then again you can shoot them in september in ohio so I think thats why. They migrate earlier.


So not really rare you just need to get into a group of them. I am still seeing some in livingston co but there are more green around.


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## Bow Hunter Brandon (Jan 15, 2003)

here are some drake GWT pictures from last weekend first one I have got with any color to it and since we are talking about them being mistaken for cin's


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## thedude (Jul 20, 2004)

not entirely true of BWT.
they are the later migrating of the teal species... gwt are the really soft ones.
I've seen BWT up until we froze up in NW In (well into DEC) the past few seasons. I rarely see a GWT after the first night of skim ice however.

but they should be fairly common around here.


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## sprigdog (Jan 29, 2004)

the dude: do dome yahoo searching and it will say BWT's are generally the first ducks south and the last ones back north and gwt's will WINTER as far north as alaska and newfoundland.


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## Jason Adam (Jun 27, 2001)

thedude said:


> not entirely true of BWT.
> they are the later migrating of the teal species... gwt are the really soft ones.
> I've seen BWT up until we froze up in NW In (well into DEC) the past few seasons. I rarely see a GWT after the first night of skim ice however.
> 
> but they should be fairly common around here.


Blue wing teal are the first ducks to go south every year. Go to Fish Point in the summer and they're in there solid. Come season, you never see them. They even leave before the Woodies do. Green wing teal are always around during season... Blue wings definitally are NOT the later of the migrating birds..


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## WallyJ (Feb 19, 2003)

Green Wings are much hardier than BWT. Early goose BWT are all over. But soon leave with the first frost or close to it.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

We shot a banded drake GW the end of November the one year. Definetly toward the top of favorite birds to shoot.

Red Head
Blue Bill
Widgeon
GW


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## thedude (Jul 20, 2004)

well that is definitley contrary to my experience. i have shot a bwt the last day of the season the last 2 years running. each time requiring a chainsaw to break a hole in 3-4" of ice. And have only shot 2 during the sept teal season in IN compared to 15-20 GWT.


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## stacemo (Oct 23, 2003)

When I lived in Puerto Rico, the Bluewings would get there in November.


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