OK, so the time finally came... Finally shot my first band.......


We did shoot a couple other bands this season as well....



It was a fun year overall....... Shot lots of ducks, my new dog did nearly 170 retrieves this year. He's doing well, I can't wait for next year!!

Keith

sweet. out of 26 greenhead we shot, no bands. next time

jade- the way we figure bands in the areas we hunt, atleast when we arent spotting them, is about 1 band per 80 mallards.

I got 2 this year and my dog found one.

Congrats on the aluminum. The first one is a special one, even if it was a hen (just kidding). Let us know where it was banded when you get the info.

Until I get the certificate all I know is it was banded in Oregon on 8-27-08....

Keith

I am betting S.I.

My buddy and I, shot a combined 50 mallards this year and ended up with two bands, one each and we shot them both in the same place, one day apart. They were both from Alberta.

Was it a hen and a drake?

No it was two drakes, mine was two years old and Toms was five years old.

WOW! I wonder what the odds of that were. Surviving that many migrations through heavily guarded lands, is no easy task for a duck.

I actually have that one beat. I shot a banded Susie up near Padilla Bay about 8 years ago. I got the certificate back and the bird was 7 years old and banded in Nova Scotia. Only thing I can think of is she met up with a drake down in Texas or Mexico and decided to follow him to Washington.

I was suprised over the years at how old some of my banded ducks were. Approaching 9 years I believe. I know I have several that were 7-8 years old. Some of my bands you have to really guess at the last number as the band is almost worn through. One of my neater stories is years ago I called a single greenie in for my dad..he killed it and it was banded. Then an hour later he called a single greenie in for me and it was banded. They were banded intotally different areas and years so that was quite a coincidence. We also have consecutive banded ducks shot years apart. Again...small world.