Photos: A Time Line of Mike Bard’s North American Waterfowl Slam

The birds, dates, and places—and a few memories—of 20 years chasing waterfowl

By | Published Nov 27, 2017 9:13 PM

Cinnamon teal trophy
A cinnamon teal to complete the slam. Mike Bard

Read the full story behind Bard’s slam here.

1. Wood Duck

Oct. 1993, Jordan, N.Y.

Young Mike Bard with a Hen Wood Duck
“We used to ride our bikes to a small farm pond after football practice and on weekends, throw out three old decoys, and wait. This hen wood duck was the first bird I ever shot.” Mike Bard

2. Mallard

Oct. 1993, Jordan, N.Y.

3. Common Merganser

Nov. 1993, Jordan, N.Y.

4. Canvasback

Nov. 2001, Otisco Lake, N.Y.

5. Bufflehead

Dec. 2001, Cazenovia Lake, N.Y.

Bufflehead ducks
“In 2001 I was back from the Army, bought my first box of decoys, and that’s when the waterfowl bug really bit me.” Mike Bard

6. Hooded Merganser

Dec. 2001, Cazenovia Lake, N.Y.

7. American Black Duck

Dec. 2001, Cazenovia Lake, N.Y.

8. Canada Goose

Dec. 2001, ­Memphis, N.Y.

9. Ruddy Duck

Oct. 2002, Cazenovia Lake, N.Y.

10. Northern Shoveler

Nov. 2002, Cazenovia Lake, N.Y.

11. Ring-Necked Duck

Nov. 2002, Cazenovia Lake, N.Y.

Ringneck ducks
Ring-necks and honkers in New York. Mike Bard

12. Long-Tailed Duck

Jan. 2003, Lake Ontario, N.Y.

13. White-Winged Scoter

Jan. 2003, Lake Ontario, N.Y.

14. American Wigeon

Jan. 2003, Great South Bay, N.Y.

15. Atlantic Brant

Jan. 2003, Great South Bay, N.Y.

Atlantic Brant
A pile of Atlantic brant. Mike Bard

16. Greenwing Teal

Oct. 2003, Lakeview Marsh, N.Y.

Greenwing teal
A couple of nice drake greenwings. Mike Bard

17. Gadwall

Jan. 2004, Great South Bay, N.Y.

18. Northern Pintail

Oct. 2004, Perch River, N.Y.

Northern Pintail
A drake northern pintail. Mike Bard

19. Snow Goose (Greater)

Nov. 2004, Platts­burgh, N.Y.

Greater snow geese
“I won this snow goose hunt at auction at a fund-raiser. We hunted a flooded beanfield from a pit blind in a dike and got a pair of firsts on geese.” Mike Bard

20. Common Eider

Nov. 2004, Revere, Mass.

21. Greater Scaup

Nov. 2004, Lake Ontario, N.Y.

22. Redhead

Nov. 2005, Montezuma NWR, N.Y.

Redhead and mallards
“We were set up for mallards and teal, not expecting a redhead. It was a nice surprise.” Mike Bard

23. Lesser Scaup

Nov. 2005, Lake Ontario, N.Y.

24. Common Goldeneye

Dec. 2005, Lake Ontario, N.Y.

25. American Coot

Oct. 2006, ­Bottineau, N.D.

26. Cackling Goose

Oct. 2006, Bottineau, N.D.

27. Snow Goose (Blue)

Dec. 2006, Jonesboro, Ark.

Blue Snow Goose
A young hunter with a blue. Mike Bard

28. White-Fronted Goose

Dec. 2006, Jonesboro, Ark.

29. Sandhill Crane

Oct. 2007, ­Bottineau, N.D.

Sandhills
“On our return to North Dakota, three sandhills came out of the refuge, up the creek inside of 20 yards from us, so of course we shot. They live up to their legend as rib eye of the sky.” Mike Bard

30. Tundra Swan

Oct. 2007, Turtle Mountain, N.D.

Tundra Swan
The tundra swan is Bard’s largest waterfowl trophy. Mike Bard

31. Red-Breasted Merganser

Jan. 2009, Great South Bay, N.Y.
“Headed down to Long Island for my annual late-season hunt with friends from Pennsylvania. Not sure what it is about guys I’ve met from PA, but they love mergansers.”

32. Lesser Snow Goose

Feb. 2009, Triplett, Mo.

33. Ross’s Goose

Feb. 2009, Triplett, Mo.

34. Harlequin

Nov. 2009, Valdez, Alaska

Harlequin ducks
“On day two in Valdez, we took a very long, very rough boat ride to ­Galena Bay. When we got to the ­island, I felt like the first human to ever step foot there.” Mike Bard

35. Barrow’s Goldeneye

Nov. 2009, Valdez, Alaska

36. Surf Scoter

Nov. 2009, Valdez, Alaska

37. Common Scoter

Jan. 2011, Narragansett Bay, R.I.

38. Bluewing Teal

Oct. 2013, St. Lawrence River, N.Y.

Bluewing Teal
A bluewing and bonus ducks. Mike Bard

39. King Eider

Jan. 2014, St. Paul Island, Alaska

King Eider
King Eider’s are a bucket-list bird for serious waterfowlers. Mike Bard

40. Pacific Black Brant

Nov. 2014, Cold Bay, Alaska

Pacific Black Brant
Pacific brant from an adventure hunt in Alaska. Mike Bard

41. Aleutian Greenwing Teal

Nov. 2014, Cold Bay, Alaska

42. Pacific Eider

Nov. 2014, Cold Bay, Alaska

43. Black-Bellied Whistling Duck

Jan. 2015, Palm Beach County, Fla.
“Once I realized I was close to the slam, I started seriously planning some adventure trips. Hunting ducks in 80-plus-degree weather in January was my kind of adventure.”

44. & 45. Mottled Duck & Fulvous Whistling Duck

Jan. 2015, Hendry County, Fla.

Mottled duck and fulvous whistling duck
Mottled duck (right) and fulvous whistling duck (left). Mike Bard

46. Borealis Eider

Jan. 2015, Fogo Islands, Newfoundland
“A friend and I decided to target this harder-to-get eider subspecies and hunted them from a commercial fishing boat. It was so much fun that I went back the next year.”

47. Cinnamon Teal

Nov. 2016, Great Salt Lake, Utah

Cinnamon teal trophy
A cinnamon teal to complete the slam. Mike Bard

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