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The waterfowling industry is chock-full of imagery consisting of bearded, face-painted dudes lugging limits of greenheads out of swamps. Mallards get a lot of attention, and rightfully so. Who doesn’t love talking in a flock of them while standing stock still in the cattails next to a quivering retriever?

The problem is, mallards and quite a few other duck species often no-show when the party should be on. They also aren’t likely to be found on the smaller ponds and streams that are available on public land throughout much of the flyway. Those bodies of water are more likely to host a few teal, or the duck species that has probably saved more rough hunts than any other: the wood duck.