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505 Posts
Greetings fellow hunters:
I was wondering how many people have actually been lucky (or skillful, if you were shooting straight that day ) in obtaining a piece of metal jewelery for your call lanyards. I have been hunting for 22 years and shot my first banded drake mallard last fall near McClusky. The drake was banded in Wisconsin in April, 2001 and I shot the bird in the third week of October. Interesting migration path to say the least.
The USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is in charge of keeping track of all game and non-game birds that have received a band. Their website is http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/default.htm if anyone is interested in the history of bird banding.
Also, since the bird banding program was transferred to the biological resource division of the USGS from USFWS, they are undergoing a "re-engineering" of the program. One of the biggest changes USGS implemented is the use of the 1-800-327-BAND phone number for reporting of bands. Amazingly, only 32% of banded mallards taken by hunters were reported to the BBL.
If any of you have been lucky enough to get a band and did not report it, shame on you . And if you haven't reported it, do call 1-800-327-band and give them the information, even if it has been years since you shot the bird. They will appreciate any information, because it is so valuable.
I was wondering how many people have actually been lucky (or skillful, if you were shooting straight that day ) in obtaining a piece of metal jewelery for your call lanyards. I have been hunting for 22 years and shot my first banded drake mallard last fall near McClusky. The drake was banded in Wisconsin in April, 2001 and I shot the bird in the third week of October. Interesting migration path to say the least.
The USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is in charge of keeping track of all game and non-game birds that have received a band. Their website is http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/default.htm if anyone is interested in the history of bird banding.
Also, since the bird banding program was transferred to the biological resource division of the USGS from USFWS, they are undergoing a "re-engineering" of the program. One of the biggest changes USGS implemented is the use of the 1-800-327-BAND phone number for reporting of bands. Amazingly, only 32% of banded mallards taken by hunters were reported to the BBL.
If any of you have been lucky enough to get a band and did not report it, shame on you . And if you haven't reported it, do call 1-800-327-band and give them the information, even if it has been years since you shot the bird. They will appreciate any information, because it is so valuable.