I was surprised to see another hunter had beaten me to the boat ramp. Waves from a hard north wind were lapping against the bank when the graying man walked up to me and asked if I was hunting alone.

In North America, there are two fundamental categories of ducks: dabbling ducks and diving ducks. Other families of waterfowl exist, such as the sea ducks and tree ducks, but it’s the puddlers and the ...