Getting birds ready for the season

Thanks for your time doing so and sharing. I'd love to be able to help participate in such activities, but they don't really mess with duck banding around here.

Thanks for sharing.

Hon
 
Steve, I thought of you when I posted the nice adult male black duck from Central Saskatchewan. There is another one hanging around the traps that I hope we catch. Sending lots of blue-wings off for those early teal seasons. Was 100 degrees on Saturday and it?s 50 degrees this morning.
 
How cool Brad! I enjoyed the summer banding the couple of times I got to do it down here. Would love to participate again. Down here it was mostly mottled ducks and wood ducks but we did get the occasional black belly.
 
Cool stuff. Those drakes sure look silly without their winter clothes on, don't they??

One question, are the birds as passive as they look once you get them in hand?
 
They were for us mostly. Some of the ducks we banded liked to scratch at you with their feet but usually the worst you would suffer from the ducks was them pooping on you. They were almost always incredibly happy to be let go and took no time at all to vamoose.
 
To answer Carl?s question, it depends on the species and gender. Female ducks seem to be scrapper. Mallards fight more than blue-winged teal. None of them like being captured or banded but most become fairly docile while banding if you maintain a firm grip. All of them have sharp toenails that will scratch you and are guaranteed to rip open any cuts you have.
 
Back
Top