Duck Banding on Collins Marsh

It was 5:45 am at the marsh, the fog was slowly spreading across the water and the Osprey were playing in the skies over our heads…. when we heard the boom! Faster than you could count, volunteers of all ages rushed to the site of the catch to band and identify the age, gender, and species of the ducks we were lucky enough to catch that day.

You may be wondering…why bother gathering this information or banding the ducks at all?

When a bander puts a band on a bird’s leg they record the band number, the species of bird, its age and sex, and the place and date it was banded. Sometimes banders collect other information such as wing, tail and weight measurements, feather condition, notes on external parasites or other details needed for a research. All this information is then entered into a central database.

When a banded bird is either recovered (found dead) or recaptured the band is reported. Once reported, the bird’s information is sent to the person who reported the band and the person who banded the bird to tell them where the bird has travelled to. The band return information is also accessed by agencies when they set regulations for the hunting season.

This was our first time banding ducks, and boy did we learn a lot!

Did you know there was a proper way to hold a duck that helps them be calm, and it doesn’t involve a bear hug? The banders patiently explained how the shape and color of feathers and beaks help identify the bird’s gender and age. Our total count for the day was 207 ducks, 172 mallards, 15 wood ducks, 1 black duck, 1 domestic and 18 recaptures.

We had a great time getting to know the community members that came to help. Thank you so much! We greatly appreciate your effort! If you would like to learn more about banding and how you can volunteer please contact us.

We’ll see you at the Marsh!