Bufflehead
Scientific Name: Bucephala albeola
Sea Duck hunting most flyways in the US you may encounter Buflehead. This dapper little bird is the smallest duck in North America mixing with diver ducks and sea ducks. Flying at an exciting rate and being able to stop on a dime makes this little bird hard to hit while sea duck hunting or diver duck hunting. Its proportionally large head gives rise to its common name, which is derived from its scientific name Bucephala, meaning buffalo-headed. Like its larger relatives the goldeneyes, the Bufflehead nests in abandoned woodpecker holes in trees. Bufflehead
The male is bold black and white with an iridescent green-and-purple head that has a white patches across the nape. Females and immature males have a gray breast and belly; they are otherwise dark brown with a white spot behind the eye. In flight, birds show a small white wing-patch in the secondaries.
Breeds from central Alaska to Quebec, and in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Winters along all three coasts and inland, except in the southern states.
(reference: National Audubon Society Pocket Guide)
Sea duck hunting guides for Bufflehead
Atlantic Flyway
East Coast Waterfowlers Capt Steve King, NY
Ocean State Outfitters Capt Jeremiah Brooks, RI, MA
Cassel’s Waterfowl Outfitters Capt Dennis Cassel, NJ
Mississippi Flyway
Ragged Reef Outfitters, Capt Bill Nyman
Land and Lake imaging, Danny Klauss “photographer”
Central Flyway
Flyway Taxidermy, Jerry Froelich “taxidermist”
Pacific Flyway
Alaska Trophy Adventures, Capt Charlie Summerville