Photo by Tom Migdalski.

One of the great unknowns of the hunting world, sea duck hunting around Long Island is nonetheless one of New York's great traditional sportsman's adventures.

The advice from Lisa Masi, a New York Department of Environmental Conservation Region 1 waterfowl specialist, is, "Contact a guide service because hunters will probably need a boat to get out on the ocean."

Ocean conditions in January may be treacherous, even in the bays. This is no place for inexperienced hunters or unsafe watercraft.

"Sea ducks" is a collective term applied to the common eider, king eider, spectacled eider, Steller's eider, black scoter, white-winged scoter, surf scoter, long-tailed duck (oldsquaw), harlequin duck, Barrow's goldeneye, common goldeneye, bufflehead, common merganser, red-breasted merganser and hooded merganser.

In the Long Island area, hunters can expect to encounter common eiders, black scoters, white-winged scoters, surf scoters, common goldeneyes, buffleheads, long-tailed ducks, harlequin ducks, common mergansers, red-breasted mergansers and hooded mergansers.

The harlequin duck is an unusual species and may not be hunted. Common goldeneyes, buffleheads and the three merganser species are commonly encountered at some inland waterways. Long-tailed ducks may be seen along the Great Lakes, particular on the Lower Niagara River, which is a major wintering area for the species. Scoters are occasionally seen along the Great Lakes, but are not often hunted.

When hunters speak of sea duck hunting, they are generally talking about hunting for scoters, eiders and long-tailed ducks. Species identification is important because the protected harlequin duck may also be encountered in the same areas.

The DEC offers a Waterfowl Hunters Education Class to help with species identification. Interested hunters may phone the Sportsman Education Office at (631) 444-0255 for information about the class and to be added to a list for notification of class schedules. Or you can check the DEC's Web site for class information.

"It's not a requirement for hunters to take a Waterfowl Hunters Education Class. However, it's highly recommended," Masi stressed.

It is also suggested that hunters get started in educating themselves about duck identification with a copy of the booklet, Ducks at a Distance. Copies may still be available at national wildlife refuges or from other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices.

Also, there is a shortage of sound scientific data available.