Honk! Quack! Bang!®
How and Why to Report Waterfowl Bands
Bird Bling, jewelry, leg irons ... all are terms of endearment to waterfowl hunters used to describe Waterfowl bands. “Those beautiful little rays of sunshine.” Talk about gett’n the blood pump’n, Bang, Bang, Bang and here comes ole buck back to the layout blind carrying a fat plump Mallard in his mouth.
You take a closer look, heck yeah this bird is sport’n jewelry. Duck bands and Goose
Bands are easy to report. You can call 1-
The certificate contains the history of your bird. The species, sex, age, where and when it was banded. The reported information is studied by wildlife biologists. This is very helpful in tracking migration patterns, setting hunting seasons, and limits. Waterfowl hunters are vital to biologist research.
The banding of birds has a long rich history dating back a thousand years, with pidgins being among some of the first being recorded. Now day’s waterfowl are banded by certified bird banders. The bird bander will sometimes use large nets that are deployed by ground rockets to catch the birds.
All information about the birds is documented, species, sex, age. A band is placed on the bird‘s leg with special pliers. The band has a set of numbers that is associated to that particular bird. The bander will record the numbers and include them in their documentation.
Leg bands are made from aluminum, plastic, and stainless steel. Stainless steel is used to prevent corrosion.
Some species are banded with a neck band ... these bands are plastic and are typically worn by geese.
Leg bands have been recovered with most of the numbers worn off. These bands can be sent in for identification. For more info go to www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl. There the bands are treated with chemicals, and in some cases the numbers are revealed and can be identified.
Happy Hunting ... Report Those Bands!
Report Waterfowl Bands
Wear that Bird Bling!
May your hunts be prosperous and your stories close to the truth.