The trim and fast Pintail Duck

By Al Lowe
Contributor

One of the most popular ducks for hunters is the Pintail. Unluckily for those of you in Northwestern Ontario, there are not that many here.
This duck (especially the male) looks trim and fast, with a long neck, long pointy tail, and feathers close to its body. The Pintail really looks the part of a speedy bird. And it is. It has been clocked flying in flocks at up to 60 mph. And there are those who claim to have measured it at over 90 mph for a short time.
This bird is mainly a northern one, breeding in Alaska, northern Canada, and all around the North Pole. It does breed, though, in southern Ontario, the Maritimes, and to some extent, here in the Northwest.
It makes some prodigious flights to its wintering grounds, mainly in the southern States and Mexico. And how about that bunch from Alaska, who winter in Hawaii, and have to fly over 2000 miles - nonstop.
The male Pintail is a very smart looking bird. His head is usually greenish brown, while his underparts are just about all white, including a wide line which runs up behind the ear.
Its back has the appearance of being grey, while the wings are quite a bit darker, with the speculum (the pretty coloured part) greenish or purplish. The most distinguishing thing about the drake is the presence of the long, central black tail feathers.
The female is quite different, generally presenting a brownish appearance - mottled, something like a light colored Mallard duck. She also has a bit of a pointed tail, but nothing like the drake.
At nesting time, the Pintail usually prefers to be near marshy ponds or small lakes. They often nest quite a distance from the water, usually well tucked away in the grass and weeds, but at times, right out in the open. After the young are all grown, they then tend to hang around brackish water shores of both fresh and salt water.
Hunters tell of the speed of the Pintail, and also about its excessive curiosity when it comes to blinds and decoys. They tend to fly in close to these things. Since they fly in rather closely-bunched flocks, a hunter gets a fairly good target, and a chance of getting more than one bird with a single shot.
There has been some concern in the last decade or so about a serious decline in the number of Pintails. A vast number of them winter in the state of California, where they make up about a third of the duck harvest. In 1985. California's harvest was only about 200,000, where a few years before, it was nearly a million. This was attributed to dry years on the Prairies for quite a few years - the ducks just couldn't get along without those marshes and potholes.
The Pintail (Anas acuta) - a very smart looking bird - and, by all reports, a very good one to eat, too. Its numbers are starting to rise again.
Let's all hope that they continue to do so, for the rest of us, as well as the hunters.