We found this guy yesterday at the boat launch....how I love finding banded birds, reporting them, and discovering their history.
This Canada Goose was hatched in Varennes, Quebec, Canada and banded, too young to fly, on July 14, 2014.
I was able to get a readable photo of his band, which I reported to Band Report. I received a report almost immediately.
How cool is it that this wild bird has made 8 treks to some southern resting place and then returned, probably to some place near where he hatched? He has probably raised families there, and flown south with them all those times.
I feel lucky to have encountered him and literally thousands of others like him that don't wear their history on their necks, but are fascinating just the same. The storms have brought so many ducks, geese, and a single Pied-billed Grebe to the boat launch, that we just keep going back to check on what has blown...or flown...in.
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| Female Hooded Merganser |
Over the past few days we have seen Gadwalls, Northern Pintails, Mallards, American Black Ducks, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Buffleheads, Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, one of the two sorts of Scaup, numerous gulls, the first Killdeer of the year, thousands upon thousands of Canada Geese, as mentioned, and a single Greater White-fronted Goose, that made the state rare bird report.
Can you say fun? You betcha.
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| Male Hooded Merganser |
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4 comments:
LUCKY DUCKY!!! AND THAT GOOSE - TOO!!!!
Wow!! You must be in birding heaven. Lucky duck is right! I've never come across a banded bird in the wild. Thanks for the website link. I booked marked it, just incase.
I swung my truck reeeally wide on my way into the big little city to run errands, in search of swans this morning. I checked multiple locations where they had been reported on ebird as sited yesterday. I got skunked. I was surprised to find one site that has been actively reported lately (Goose Pond) was frozen solid. Hmmm. The other sites were all open water. I saw a few ordinary Mallards and Canadian Geese at the last location I checked. I took zero photos. Oh well. My mother said there would be days like this. Reality is, every day can't be a photographers dream. We are trending warmer again this weekend, which will help.
Thanks for sharing your finds! I will bird vicariously through you :)
That was a cool find. I have to look here and see if I find any banded birds.
Cathy, for a slow, measured sort of spring, with little springlike weather up until this week, we have indeed been lucky! Saw most of the common ducks already and the common gulls as well. First American Woodcock this very morning
aurora, I enjoy your reports of what you find as well. Please keep them coming! We have found several banded birds over the years and it is always exciting to await the band report to learn their history. Some were tagged in Canada, others in a swamp we visit regularly right here in our home county. I am waiting eagerly for the ice to go out of our ponds! Maybe today. The river broke up a couple of weeks ago, but is still flowing too fast for really great birding. Most of the snow is gone though, so hopefully soon....
Linda, it is so much fun to turn the tag numbers in and learn where your birds were hatched! Good luck!
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