Bluebills

[Nershi]

When I was hunting down in Texas I noticed the bluebills we shot were significantly smaller than the lesser bills I have shot in MN, WI and ND. Are there different size subspecies, similar to Canada's?

[lanyard]

Tail end of their flight. Some species can lose close to half their body mass during migration. Up here, they're just starting. Down there, they're just getting done.

[Nershi]

Yea I understand that but a bird will lose fat and weight from a migration. Their head and bone structure isn't going to shrink. These birds weren't skinny, they were noticeably smaller overall.

[Quack]

Hit up Al Afton on Facebook and ask him. He'd know if anyone and I think he's pretty approachable.

[Nershi]

I don't Facebook. Thanks anyhow

[lanyard]

I think you're giving to much beauty to skeletal structure for the size of the bird in hand. Maybe they were juvies, but I'm sticking with body mass.

If not, where are all the idiot internet arguments about the fabled "Lesser Lesser"?

[Nershi]

We were shooting plumed up mature drakes. We did shoot one juvie drake. They weren't skinny birds. Some even had enough fat for roasting. I've shot a few bluebills in my day and these were definitely smaller birds.

For now I guess I'll consider them lesser lesser bills.

[deet]

Just curious, how do you know you're shooting lesser scaup in MN and WI? Not arguing, actually wondering.

what I'm getting at is maybe you actually shoot greaters up here and those in TX were lessers. I don't really know the difference though. A bluebill is a bluebill to me. Some I kill are small, some medium, some large. Don't know what's what.

[lanyard]

There IS scientific evidence that the further north a population of a species lives the larger the body mass they carry. It's called Bergmann's Rule. So, MN whitetails are larger than Texas deer but smaller than Norther MB whitetails.

Possible you got into a more southern breeding population that you don't shoot here in MN~ they fly right over us. But the birds you shoot up on the Range make a stop.

So, in MN your shooting Hudson Bay birds. In TX you're shooting Lake Eerie birds.

I recommend taking your "Lesser Lesser" theory to the MN DNR, they'll have the answer

[Nershi]

Deet, to be honest I guess I'm not sure. When I've shot them with my dad and grandpa they always said they were lessers. I guess I just trusted them because they have killed bluebills, and lots of them, their whole life but maybe they aren't correct. I thought I read once that most of the greaters are on the east coast but a quick google search shows they migrate through here. When I was a kid I remember shooting a greater along with what my dad said were lessers and I remember it was a lot bigger but that was 15+ years ago so maybe my memory is skewed.

I guess I just assumed they were migrating to Texas from a different area than the ones we shoot here which caused the size difference - similar to what Lanyard said but maybe I've been shooting greaters all along?