Banding Wood Ducks with the Wisconsin DNR
Aug 29, 2016 19:25:20 GMT -5
mbalmu7 and rendezvous like this
Post by hunt4it on Aug 29, 2016 19:25:20 GMT -5
Good evening Fello Swampers!
Wanted to share an experience I had last week with the Wisconsin DNR. I had the opportunity to participate with the Wisconsin DNR in their quest to band Wood Ducks! This is something that I have never had the opportunity to do but was eager at the offer and gladly accepted. Up at 4a and out the door at 4:30a to make the hour and a half drive to the location where we would be banding. Arrived at the site at 6a as it started to get light. With the large amount of rain we've been getting here in West Central Wisconsin, there was a possibility that it would not happen due to the netting site being close to being submerged as the river was on the rise. When I arrived at the meeting spot, I could see the water was high with half of the parking lot along the river under water.
As we waited for the sound of the net going off, the group of DNR Staff and volunteers chatted and watched Wood Ducks fly up and down the river bottoms as they normally do in the morning. That's when it happened...the net was fired. We took off towards the site to find the net had successfully captured a number of Wood Ducks and this is when the real fun/work began. Complements to the DNR Staff for getting everyone involved in transporting the ducks to the information site (20 feet away
) for the banding. Once the information was collected and the band was attached, the bird was then released by either a volunteer or a staff member.
In total, 44 Wood Ducks were banded, 5 additional ducks were already banded and their information was recorded and then released and finally, one sneaky bird escaped for a total of 50 birds captured in the nets. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to participate in this event and I look forward to participating again next year.
Here's some footage of the banding. I hope you enjoy. -Fish4it
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yIWvdFwYFA&feature=youtu.be
Wanted to share an experience I had last week with the Wisconsin DNR. I had the opportunity to participate with the Wisconsin DNR in their quest to band Wood Ducks! This is something that I have never had the opportunity to do but was eager at the offer and gladly accepted. Up at 4a and out the door at 4:30a to make the hour and a half drive to the location where we would be banding. Arrived at the site at 6a as it started to get light. With the large amount of rain we've been getting here in West Central Wisconsin, there was a possibility that it would not happen due to the netting site being close to being submerged as the river was on the rise. When I arrived at the meeting spot, I could see the water was high with half of the parking lot along the river under water.
As we waited for the sound of the net going off, the group of DNR Staff and volunteers chatted and watched Wood Ducks fly up and down the river bottoms as they normally do in the morning. That's when it happened...the net was fired. We took off towards the site to find the net had successfully captured a number of Wood Ducks and this is when the real fun/work began. Complements to the DNR Staff for getting everyone involved in transporting the ducks to the information site (20 feet away
) for the banding. Once the information was collected and the band was attached, the bird was then released by either a volunteer or a staff member.In total, 44 Wood Ducks were banded, 5 additional ducks were already banded and their information was recorded and then released and finally, one sneaky bird escaped for a total of 50 birds captured in the nets. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to participate in this event and I look forward to participating again next year.
Here's some footage of the banding. I hope you enjoy. -Fish4it
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yIWvdFwYFA&feature=youtu.be
