Bird is the word

I had the chance to help with 2 duck banding efforts in the area in addition to my regularly scheduled work program over the last couple of weeks.  You may have read the previous post from June about goose banding- the concept is pretty similar, although the tactics for catching the birds are a little different.  The information collected from banded birds can be valuable for population studies related to survival and mortality, migration and dispersal, and reproduction success (see the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory for more information).

Collins Marsh
Collins Marsh Wildlife Area is located in Manitowoc County, about 45 minutes southeast of the City of Green Bay towards Lake Michigan.  The duck banding operation there involves an early morning, a cannon net, and a duck blind- observers get into the blind at about 4:30 AM and wait for the ducks to come in to the baiting site (the corn pile).  They are often very wary of people, so the observers wear camouflage clothing, stay hidden in the blind, and stay very quiet.  The biologist "takes the shot" when ready, which detonates the explosives and releases the net, and captures the ducks beneath unharmed.  Most of the time, the shot occurs at around 6 AM and ducks are processed very quickly thanks to all the volunteer help.

  An early morning at Collins Marsh

Each duck is aged (juvenile or adult) and sexed (male or female), and receives a bracelet (or band) with a number and website for a hunter or other individual to report where the bird was located if recaptured or killed at a later time.  Unlike the geese we banded a few weeks ago that were flightless at the time due to their molt, ducks will take right off from your hands when released.  We banded 42 ducks that morning (a lower number than usual, due to a light wind that made the shot difficult)- 10 mallards, 31 wood ducks, and 1 green-winged teal.  The ducks are not in breeding plumage right now and some of the young born this year are right on the cusp of adulthood, so it can make it a little more challenging to figure out their age and sex. 

 Getting ready to release an male wood duck after he received his new "jewelry."  Woodies have surprisingly sharp claws, used for perching in trees.

Nice look at the green-winged teal, complements of event organizer Josh

Staff and volunteers rolling up the net after finishing with banding- very important to get it put away properly so it will fire correctly at the next shot. 

 The team after a successful morning of banding (which ended at 6:30 AM, before the morning even began!).  The blind is located up in the trees behind everyone, to the right of the photo.

As I heard beforehand, one of the best things about duck banding is the delicious group breakfast at the Silver Dollar Diner in the nearby village of Valders following a successful morning of banding.  Friendly staff and a wonderful breakfast- they even gave us a shout out on Facebook!



Navarino
Navarino Wildlife Area is located in the westerly direction from the City of Green Bay in Shawano County (pronounced SHAWN oh- weird, I know) and Waupaca County (waw PACK uh).  Unlike at Collins, Duck banding at Navarino takes place at night beginning at dusk.  Volunteers watch a short presentation given by the local wildlife technician beforehand and then jump into vehicles to ride to 3 different trapping sites.  Each site has a wire trap set up (referred to as a "walk-in trap"), that allows ducks to walk in to access the bait (also corn) through several open doors.  The first team on site approaches and quickly closes off the small doors with burlap bags, leaving the ducks inside the wire trap.  The ducks are gently herded to an opening once a separate smaller trap is prepared to then transport the ducks to the banding location.  Banding takes place under lanterns since it is so dark on the wildlife area.

Scott and I both volunteered for an evening at Navarino (on our 4th wedding anniversary, in fact), so it made for an interesting and fun evening out!  We helped to herd some of the ducks to the portable traps (Havahart live traps) and also carried ducks to the banders for processing.  We also got to help with blocking off the exit doors at the second site, so that was pretty exciting to jump out of the truck and hurry in on the trap.  The mosquitoes were pretty bad at the first couple of the sites, but overall it was a nice evening in the marsh even though rain was expected the next day.  I heard Navarino is a great place to view stars, but it was pretty cloudy on the evening we were there.  The team banded 90 new ducks- 31 mallards and 59 wood ducks. We also captured 18 mallards and 11 wood ducks that already had bands (known as recaptures).  For recaptures, we recorded the number on the band as a known location of the bird and released them.  Unfortunately, no photos from the evening due to the darkness and cardio workout received from swatting at Wisconsin's state bird (i.e., mosquitoes).