1917-30177

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member
The Saga of 1917-30177

I remember Chili bringing that hen mallard to me. I could already see the band on its leg and since this was the second banded duck of the day, I was sky high. Then when I looked at the very unusual number sequence, I became doubly excited! My mind was whirling trying to figure out where 1917 could possibly be from.
In 1954, I began my duck hunting career and then in 2002, I shot my first banded duck. I can remember doing the Toyota leap out in the marsh and thinking how foolish that must have looked----however, I didn’t care. This was a super exciting moment for me.
Now I was still staring at this 24th banded duck that I just took with so many questions still unanswered. Could it be from Alaska, Saskatchewan, or maybe Utah? I have taken banded ducks from New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, and Alberta, Canada so far.
This time I decided to call it in and have them email me the results. When the young lady hesitated somewhat, right away that flew a red flag up. She told me that something wasn’t quite right because there was no information in the system. She asked me to be patient. Good grief, how could a guy be patient just knowing that this duck was something special?
Well, two days ago I received an email from USGS and here is what it said. Date banded, January 6, 2010—Date encountered, January 19, 2010. Place banded—Bosque del Apache. Bander—John Vradenburg. OH NO!
The duck lived 13 days after being banded by my good friend, John. I have often helped him with his banding operations at Bosque del Apache. From where I was and knowing the pond that John set his trap on that day, the duck flew about 6 miles before she was knocked out of the air. How many minutes did that take?
So goes those wild fantasies that once entered my head-----maybe Alaska, Saskatchewan, or Utah. Well, hopefully the next banded duck will be from there----if there is a next one.
Al

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John putting a band on a drake mallard

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I loved holding these guys

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One of the kids releasing a banded drake pintail

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Can you whisper in the duckies ear to come into my spread next year Al? 30+ years hunting and still no banded duck. Never even been with someone who has shot a banded duck. I need all the help I can get.

MArk W
 
Great story Al! You know that I've been hunting ducks for over 20 years now and have never shot a banded duck! ............................Kevin
 
Very cool Al! For those of you who have never killed a banded bird, it's all chance of opportunity. I live in an area where a lot of birds get banded within a relatively close radius. I've got tons of stories of folks taking their first ever bands with me. I had two guide clients last year who were on their first ever Canada Goose hunts, (for one guy, it was the first time he'd ever been hunting period!) They both killed banded birds. I had a buddy from South Carolina kill two banded Mallards with me this year; first one was the first duck of the day on his first day out with me. A few days later he shot another banded Mallard! Not bragging, just saying depending on where you live your chances can be a lot better at harvesting a banded bird...
 
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That story reminds me of story someone here telling about a banded 'northern red leg' a buddy shot years ago. Turns out when they got the data it was banded a few months before 20 miles to the south of where it was shot.

I have a band off of a goose from about 1983, I have not even seen another band since. I hope I don't have to wait as long as you for that first duck band.

Tim
 
They don't band on my flyway. It is a secret flyway. hee hee forty + years. No bands.... They come out of nowhere and depart to points unknown. My partner got a goose about four years ago that was banded. I keep telling him that was a confused goose something not right about it or he would have never got it.

 
I wanna know why they are banding during the hunting season. That usually is a big no-no because it creates a baiting situation on the refuge and within season recoveries like your are not useful in the recovery rate or survival rate models.
 
I wanna know why they are banding during the hunting season. That usually is a big no-no because it creates a baiting situation on the refuge and within season recoveries like your are not useful in the recovery rate or survival rate models.
Click to expand...


I seem to remember one of the hunting magazines a few years back, had one of those band maps with date banded and date harvested, had a duck banded on (or along) lake Erie, harvested about 24 hours later on the East coast.
 
I wanna know why they are banding during the hunting season. That usually is a big no-no because it creates a baiting situation on the refuge and within season recoveries like your are not useful in the recovery rate or survival rate models.
Click to expand...


I seem to remember one of the hunting magazines a few years back, had one of those band maps with date banded and date harvested, had a duck banded on (or along) lake Erie, harvested about 24 hours later on the East coast.
Click to expand...

Not at all surprising. Many of the birds coming across northern Ohio are going east to the Atlantic Flyway.
 
Brad,
The only time that we have ducks down here is during the hunting season. When you consider the number of birds banded and those few that are taken, like the one I did, they are playing the odds or percentages. The vast majority of banded birds are taken in Canada then the northern part of the United States. I haven't heard of a problem with baiting unless it came from your neck of the woods. All of the operations that I have attended were using rocket launched nets with a few bags of grain. A team of experts is there ready to take care of all the birds, record data, look for avian influenza, etc and of course band birds. It is a marvelous experience. What is very special is to watch waterfowl biologists work in a team coordinated effort so they will not harm birds in any way. Whether the biologist is 55 years old or maybe just 28, they all seem to have the same amount of enthusiasm towards ducks and geese. These people earn their keep!
Al
 
I wanna know why they are banding during the hunting season. That usually is a big no-no because it creates a baiting situation on the refuge and within season recoveries like your are not useful in the recovery rate or survival rate models.
Click to expand...


I seem to remember one of the hunting magazines a few years back, had one of those band maps with date banded and date harvested, had a duck banded on (or along) lake Erie, harvested about 24 hours later on the East coast.
Click to expand...

Not at all surprising. Many of the birds coming across northern Ohio are going east to the Atlantic Flyway.
Click to expand...


I wasn't so surprised that it went from Erie to the Atlantic, but the chances of being harvested so soon, and quite a distance away...Brad's comment jarred the memory...
 
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