Banding Together

If there is such a thing as “beginner’s luck” for a waterfowl hunter, Mason Bowden could very well be the poster child.

Last fall, the young hunter joined his dad, Nate, on an early-season hunt for geese at a large wetland not too far from his home in South Dakota. As a hunter, Mason had already crossed a number of “firsts” off his list—including his first whitetail and first turkey—but he had yet to shoot a Canada goose.

Mason didn’t have to wait long in the cattails for a chance that morning, but the combination of nerves and excitement got the better of him, and he missed the first goose of the day. Soon, the lonesome honks of another single Canada goose echoed over the marsh, and Mason’s dad blew into his short-reed call to lure the honker over the decoys.

This time, Mason connected.

As Nate waded out to retrieve his son’s first goose, he turned back toward Mason, who was waiting anxiously in the cattails, and joked, “How cool would it be if it’s banded?”

“Then I lifted the goose up out of the water,” Nate recalls, “and saw the band on its leg. I couldn’t believe it.”

Mason’s mood went from excitement to elation.

“This is the best day ever!” he shouted.

And so it goes for waterfowl hunters of all ages. Shooting a duck, goose, or swan wearing a band on its leg is a big deal. Bling, jewelry, hardware—whatever hunters call them, these lightweight aluminum bands are rare trophies prized by waterfowlers everywhere. As it turns out, the information provided by these bands is also highly prized by those who study and manage waterfowl populations. What follows is a look at the science behind waterfowl banding and how these small pieces of metal fit into the larger picture of waterfowl management.

The banding of waterfowl and other migratory birds is not a modern idea. Evidence of people placing markers on birds dates back as far as the Roman Empire. Even Marco Polo recorded seeing banded hunting falcons as he traveled through China in the late 13th century.

John James Audubon is credited with the first bird-banding experiment in North America, in 1803. The noted artist and naturalist tied silver cords to the legs of a brood of eastern phoebes and discovered that the birds returned to the same nesting sites each year.

The first large-scale waterfowl banding program in North America began in 1922 and then expanded into an international effort in 1946. Today, biologists band around 200,000 ducks and nearly 150,000 geese and swans in North America each year. Mallards are the primary target of banding programs, as they are the most commonly harvested duck species in the United States and Canada, but virtually every species of waterfowl is banded to some degree. Hunters and other individuals report roughly 85,000 band recoveries each year.

The actual process of banding waterfowl has changed little over the years. Biologists collect birds for banding by using bait to lure waterfowl into swim-in traps placed in areas of shallow water, or they use sections of fencing to corral flightless birds on the ground. Biologists also use rocket nets or similar devices to capture large numbers of ducks and geese concentrated in a small area.

When a bird is banded, its age, sex, and species are recorded along with a unique number on the band. This information is sent to the US Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, where all banding records are maintained. The oldest banded bird harvested by a hunter in North America was over 30 years old!

The earliest studies of waterfowl band recoveries helped researchers and hunters identify migration routes and wintering areas used by waterfowl after the birds leave their breeding grounds. By plotting where birds were banded and then later collected by hunters, biologists were able to piece together the four major waterfowl flyways: Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific.

The Science Behind Banding

Today, waterfowl banding programs still rely largely on hunters to report when and where they harvest banded birds. By reporting band recoveries, hunters help waterfowl managers gain a better understanding of where and when waterfowl are migrating, explains Dr. John Coluccy, director of conservation science and planning for Ducks Unlimited, and band recovery data also helps researchers estimate how many waterfowl are being harvested each year.

“Band recoveries show biologists how waterfowl harvest is distributed throughout the states, flyways, and the continent,” says Coluccy, who, like Mason Bowden, found a band on the leg of the first Canada goose he ever shot. “Band recovery data is also used to estimate the survival of waterfowl specific to their age, determine if they are a drake or a hen, and identify their species.”

Coluccy says that when band recovery data are combined with information gathered about waterfowl breeding habitat conditions, population dynamics, and hunter activity, waterfowl management professionals have the informationthey need to set annual hunting regulations, including season lengths and daily bag limits. And while waterfowl researchers now use additional kinds of markers to keep track of migratory waterfowl, including neck collars, nasal saddles and discs, and digital tools like GPS backpacks that allow birds to be monitored remotely, the information shared with researchers by waterfowlers through band recoveries remains vital to waterfowl management.

“Bands provide a wealth of information that improves our understanding and management of these fascinating birds,” Coluccy says. “If you happen to be one of the lucky few who harvests a marked bird, please take the time to report it.

In addition to a certificate, you will receive information about where and when the bird was banded, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to the understanding and management of North America’s waterfowl resources.”

Banding and Conservation

Today, the banding of migratory birds is managed cooperatively between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and various other wildlife agencies and organizations across North America. Staff at Ducks Unlimited use data recovered from ducks banded in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) to plan conservation efforts across the four major flyways. Nicknamed the “Duck Factory” because of its importance to breeding waterfowl, the PPR spans parts of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and the three Canadian prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The wetlands and grasslands in the PPR are the best waterfowl breeding habitat in North America. Birds banded at just one site in the PPR have been recovered in all four flyways, including 27 different states, three Canadian provinces, three Caribbean countries, and five Central and South American countries. The scope of these recoveries illustrates the importance of the breeding habitat found in this region, and it also underscores why conserving wetlands in the PPR has been Ducks Unlimited’s top priority since the organization’s founding in 1937.

“The information banding programs provide is invaluable to Ducks Unlimited and its members,” says Bruce Toay, DU manager of conservation programs in South Dakota.

“From band recoveries of birds hatched in the PPR, we’ve been able to create a map showing where these ducks go and how they are getting there. This has helped show hunters and DU members in other parts of the country that if they want to see more birds over their decoys, we need to protect breeding habitat on the prairies.”

According to Toay, the information gathered from band recoveries has also identified key migration and wintering areas used by large numbers of waterfowl. “We can show how a bird that hatched in North Dakota traveled to the Rainwater Basin in Nebraska or the Platte River in Colorado and then went on to wintering areas in Arkansas or Louisiana,” Toay says. “In order to support large populations of birds during their long migrations, we need to protect and enhance habitat on these key stopover and wintering areas throughout the flyways. In other words, we need to be sure the birds have a round-trip ticket to get them back to the breeding grounds in good condition.”

From identifying continentally important habitats to providing information used in setting annual hunting regulations, waterfowl bands are a good example of how great things can come in small packages.

If you harvest a banded bird this season, visit reportband.gov to report the recovery.