For waterfowling enthusiasts, duck bands are among the most cherished mementos of the hunt. Fewer than one out of a thousand ducks wear the bands, so they are rare treasures, indeed. They are to the waterfowler what big antlers are to the deer hunter or long beards are to the turkey hunter: trophies. Wearing a lanyard of bands around your neck is a status symbol.
The value of duck bands far exceeds that of mere jewelry, however. Hunters who harvest banded birds and report band information play a vital role in waterfowl conservation. The information gathered provides insights into the lives of ducks and geese and is vital to their management.
Modern banding efforts
The banding of ducks and other migratory birds in North America is managed cooperatively by the Bird Banding Laboratory of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bird Banding Office of the Canadian Wildlife Service. Both countries use the same bands, reporting forms and data formats.
Because banding birds requires capturing and handling the birds, banding in the U.S. is controlled under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and requires a federal banding permit. Some states require a state permit as well. Only official federal bands may be legally placed on birds released to the wild within the U.S.
Tens of thousands of waterfowl are marked each year with leg bands. This effort includes banding programs from the Arctic Circle to the Gulf Coast.
Most ducks are banded from late summer through early fall just before they migrate south from northern nesting grounds. Baited traps capture dabbling ducks such as mallards and teal. Diving ducks are herded into nets called drive traps when they are molting and unable to fly. Hunting dogs help researchers find and catch eiders on their nests.
Some ducks also are banded in early spring or winter. Wood ducks, for example, often are captured while using nest boxes. Wintering sea ducks are caught using night lighting, net guns and floating mist nets. Mallards, pintails, gadwalls and other species often are captured on wintering grounds using baited traps or rocket nets.
Each duck is fitted with a uniquely numbered band placed securely on the leg. Bands provided by the Bird Banding Laboratory are made of aluminum and inscribed CALL 1-800-327 BAND and WRITE BIRD BAND LAUREL MD 20708 USA, followed by a unique 8- or 9-digit number.
The bander records where and when the bird is banded, how old it is, what sex it is and other information. Those records then are entered into the Bird Banding Laboratory’s computer database. If a band is later reported, scientists can use the information to learn more.
During the earliest days of duck banding, researchers simply wanted to know more about duck migration. But today, band returns also provide information about a species’ abundance, distribution, numbers, life span, causes of death and more. Data from banded ducks are used to monitor population levels, assess the effects of environmental disturbances and address concerns such as bird hazards at airports and crop depredations.
Results from banding studies also support national and international conservation programs such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Each year, biologists thoroughly analyze band returns and use the information to assess hunting pressure, estimate productivity and survival, and measure the vulnerability of age/sex classes to hunting pressure. This information is essential for developing hunting regulations to assure that duck populations aren’t harmed by overharvest.
Duck-banding facts
Biologists band more than 200,000 ducks annually, with information recovered for large numbers of those birds. In 2001, for example, 222,006 ducks were banded, and 48,576 bands were recovered.
Through 2007, about 13 million ducks had been banded in North America. The mallard leads the flock, with about 7 million banded. Blue-winged teal are a distant second at more than 1.5 million, followed by pintails and wood ducks (1.3 million), black ducks (1 million) and green-winged teal (500,000).
The most commonly banded diving duck is the lesser scaup at 350,000 plus. Redheads (270,000), canvasbacks (160,000) and ring-necked ducks (155,000) are next on the list. The black scoter is near the bottom of the list, with only about 340 banded to date.
Not surprisingly, the duck bands most often found on hunters’ lanyards are those found on commonly banded species such as mallards (around 1 million recoveries), black ducks (160,000), pintails (147,000) and wood ducks (140,000). Among the real rarities are the 2,000 or so bands (per species) recovered from cinnamon teal, common goldeneyes and buffleheads.
Rarer still are bands from ruddy ducks, long-tailed ducks and spectacled eiders. If you have a ruddy-duck band, you’re one of only 550 hunters who can make that claim. Only 61 long-tailed duck bands have been recovered, and only 10 spectacled eider bands!
Reporting a band
Of the more than 1 million birds banded each year in North America, 87 percent of all recoveries reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory are from waterfowl. Surprisingly, however, of all the banded birds killed by hunters, only 30 to 40 percent are reported. Given the tremendous cost associated with the banding effort and the reliance on banding as an essential management and research tool, the loss of data associated with this low band-reporting rate is regrettable.
Any band you recover is yours to keep, and reporting information is easy. To report a band via the Internet, visit www.reportband.gov. To report a band by telephone, call toll-free to (800) 327-BAND (2263).
Information needed for a report includes the band number; how, when and where the band was found; and the name and address of the person reporting the band. When you submit a report, the Bird Banding Lab will email you details about when and where the bird was banded and add your report to the lab’s database.
As you can see, the value of duck bands is inestimable. Hunters who harvest birds and report their bands provide invaluable assistance to conserving North America’s ducks. Information from hunters provides incredible insight into the lives of waterfowl and helps foster a much greater appreciation of the birds we hunt.