Banded Duck Stories

I shot back to back drake Mallards out of two different go's, 5 mins apart.... both banded in Alberta a few years apart, Had a buddy shoot a hen pintail that had a radio vest and band, most of my other bands on ducks were Alaska and Canada

 

This was back in 2006. Really random but that year we shot so many teal it was nuts. I haven't seen Teal like that on the west side since then.

 

Best advice I have ever gotten from those who shoot a lot of bands: start by hunting the right birds (mallards, cacklers, local honkers and wood ducks are the three most commonly banded species you will encounter in WA), then hunt the right areas (lots of banding done in Yakima, Moses Lake, and Whatcom County) and your chances will go up dramatically. Also, when birds come in... look at their legs! Bands are easier to spot than people would imagine. Picking them out isn't easy, but it's also not impossible. Yes, there is a lot of luck to shooting bands but if you really want to shoot them, there are ways of stacking the odds in your favor.

 

Hands down the coolest banded bird I every shot was a blue goose shot in Skagit County and banded on Wrangle Island, Russia that summer.

Curt

 

Shot a GWT drake at Nisqually a few years back banded in North central AK, as well as a mallard drake back home in Missouri which was banded in Northwest Territories near Ft McPherson as well. Craziest was a Redhead hen I shot at Priest Rapids, band was worn slick and the Bird band laboratory told me it was a blue wing teal based upon their records and after I sent it in for acid etching (banded in Sacramento valley of CA). I had to send them pictures to prove it was twice the size of a BWT and had it sitting next to a drake redhead from the same flock just to prove my point! They changed their records after that.

 

I shot a redhead up above rufus woods Nespelum part of the river band was unreadable sent it in to f&G sent it back not readable still wondering???
shot many mallards from the peace river area 2 bands from summer lake OR lots of tule lake bands and i and only honker band from rock island golf cours wenatchee
cool thread guys!!

 

I have 2. Both from snow geese shot in South East Missouri. The first one was a blue that was banded in coral harbor Nunavut Canada and was 7 years old. The second one I shot a few years later and it was a blue from Manitoba and it was also 7 years old. My buddy shot a blue out of the same flock and it was banded on the same day in the same place by the same person. Out of thousands mixing and flying together we shoot 2 banded geese that had flown together for 7 years. Pretty cool.

 

In 2009 my older son and I participated in WDFW banding/ research efforts on scoters in Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties - part of the crew rounding up and netting August moulting seaducks. We made several days of it over the month and banded close to 100 scoters. Later that December the boys and I were enjoying a good scoter hunt on one of our local bays off the Strait and low and behold one of the drake surfs he shot was banded. Data results showed it was a bird banded in Padilla Bay during that past August... and from the sequence likely one of the birds he banded there personally. What are those odds ?