I’m convinced, Hooded Mergansers are simply Wood Ducks that have been corrupted by the Dark Side.
Similar in size and sharing a proclivity for nesting in tree cavities, the bill of the hoodie shrivels into thin, serrated forceps ideal for catching minnows, forsaking the broad palette of reds and yellows suited for snacking on acorns and seeds that a wood duck possesses. The hoody’s eyes turn yellow, and the resplendent, confident crest of the woody transforms into a periscoping coiffure that desperately flashes a patch of white feathers at female suitors and male rivals.
Without a doubt, they’re tougher to splash than a wood duck. As for their kitchen quality — well, while the wood duck is prized table fare, the fishy breast meat of a hooded merganser can be rendered fit for human consumption through tenderizing, marinating, wrapping in bacon, and downing a fifth of bourbon in advance.
However these beasts came to be, their population seems to be on the upswing. They are, in their own right, handsome birds that tend to zip through the decoys in low light hours. They are equally at home in wet stormwater ponds and brackish sloughs. When we were younger, my buddies and I hunted hoodies and red-breasted mergansers off Homosassa when the glamour ducks played hard-to-get. Other than that, I don’t know many folks over the age of 30 who target them with any regularity, but if you do, good news! The bag limit on hooded mergansers is set to increase this season.
Prior to the upcoming campaign, the limit of these birds was two per day which counted against the five-bird overall merganser limit, as these species are tallied separately from other waterfowl. In a summary memo listed on the consent agenda for the upcoming FWC Commission Meeting, biological assessments “indicate hooded merganser populations are healthy and have been increasing at a rate of 2%-7% per year during the past 25 years.”
As a result, hunters will be able to take up to the five-bird limit of mergansers with the bag consisting entirely of hoodies, if so fortunate. Hey, they’re still better eating than red-breasted mergies, and certainly more sporty.
For other hunting-related news to arise from the May FWC meeting, the bag limit for sea ducks (eider, scoters, and long-tailed ducks) is being reduced to no more than 3 in the aggregate bag limit as populations along the Atlantic Flyway have declined. This should have a limited impact on Florida hunters as these species are not regularly targeted in these parts. This is simply a step to align state rules with federal guidelines.
FWC staff will also present the final rule amendment to allow authorized alligator hunters to take alligators all day during the Statewide Alligator Harvest seasons. The Commission is expected to put their final stamp of approval on this, as I’ve discussed in prior months.
Aside from these items, it's pretty slow on the hunting front, at least judging by what has been published online. Feel free to check out the agenda by following this website: myfwc.com/about/commission/commission-meetings/may-2022/.
The May 2022 Commission meeting will be held the 3rd and 4th at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville. The meetings will start at 8:30 a.m. on both days, and FWC encourages public input. Advance comments should be submitted no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, April 29th. Those comments can be submitted by snail mail or by using an online comment form found at the link mentioned above.