Stuart wrote:

>0838-43260 1+ years old, 1 mile E. of Burbank, WA, 6/26/92
>0838-43275 1+ years old, near Gibraltar, Michigan, 6/26/92

Dennis Paulson:
>Oh oh, Stuart, I'm still perplexed. It stretches my imagination (not that
>I don't like it stretched) that two birds having band numbers 15 digits
>apart were banded on the same date at Burbank, WA, and Gibraltar, MI.

How are neck bands distributed? Normal USFW aluminum leg bands
are distributed in strands of 100, at least in the sizes I've
used. If this is true of neck bands, it is most curious that both of
these are 838-432xx - this would indicate the same strand.

The mere fact that they're 15 digits apart wouldn't matter if they
spanned a strand boundary - consecutive strands can easily end
up thousands of miles apart. But most folks don't break up
strands and mail 'em to folks thousands of miles away.

On the other hand, goose neck bands are big and may be distributed
in smaller strands or sets.

Maybe we can find some banded geese for Stuart to demonstrate
his reading techniques on at the picka-nicka!

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>