Ted,

Being a bird bander and having participated in numerous "duck drives" in
the 'youth' of my career, I may be somewhat biased.

But I will note my experiences have given me the impression that, other
than the immediate stress of being in proximity with people, there is no
adverse effect on the birds involved. Ducks are generally driven by
having several 'beaters' either walk or boat from one side of a pond, etc
toward a temporarily-established 'drift fence' that funnels the birds
into a holding pen. These are usually made of narrow-mesh netting (such
as herring seine material) or light chicken wire, so that birds cannot
get their heads or wings entangled; researchers do not want to injure
their objects of study, and none of us wish to injure any bird for
'humanitarian' reasons.

As the birds are flightless, they stand to one side of the pen while the
banders band and record data. When the next bird is needed, the people
reach over the wire/net, pick up a duck, band & record & release, and repeat
the process.

As a biological technician in the N Dakota pothole country, at Malheur NWR,
in the Willamette Valley, etc., I have handled and banded thousands of
ducks. Injuries and/or mortalities are extremely rare.

That the ducks are seen feeding afterward in the same area without
showing sign of stress, etc - often the same day - and the fact that many
birds are recaptured year after year after year leads me to believe there
is little adverse effects to the birds. If I thought there was, I
wouldn't participate. Some birds are even captured daily during a
banding operation, especially at a baited trap, and are referred to as 'trap
happy' by the banders!

The information received from such banding operations is extremely useful
to waterfowl managers and researchers. From summer banding, biologists
can determine adult/juvenile ratios and thus determine nesting success
for a region. The band returns, of course, are invaluable in letting us
know where these birds come from and go to. It makes no difference if we
protect habitat in the wintering grounds if we permit the nesting areas
to be plowed, developed, drained, etc. And vice-versa. Our concern for
'our' nesting warblers' habitats are definitely tied to our concerns
about their central and south American wintering habitats. Both matter.
Banding helps establish the link between nesting and wintering
populations of many species.

Information on migration is also useful. When I worked in North Dakota,
we re-captured a female Redhead that had been, with her brood, caught &
banded the previous year. Two of her brood had been killed during the
duck hunting season, on the same day. One was shot in Utah and one had
been shot in Louisiana. Information from one recovery might not tell us
much, but information through the years from all over the continent lets
the scientific (and birding) communities know what is going on.

I would be interested in seeing other opinions about this, but I maintain
that birds are not adversely impacted and the information is invaluable.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, WA
anderjda at dfw.wa.gov


On Fri, 2 Jun 1995, Ted Becker wrote:

> An aqaintance of mine is very active in Ducks Unlimited. He was telling
> me about their summer duck banding activity and invited me come along when
> the time comes. During the summer molt, when the ducks are flightless,
> they are herded up, captured and banded. What is the general opinion of
> this activity? I am sure I would be unable to dissuade any of this
> activity but at least for my conscience I would like to know if this was
> particularly harmful to the birds and if it is a useful operation. He
> also said they could use more help so if there is interest I will post the
> details as I learn them.
>
> Ted Becker tbecker at eskimo.com
> (360) 794-3708 (FAX by appointment) or (360) 794-9329
> 26915 Van Brocklin Road, Monroe, WA 98272
> Without poetic license we'd be stuck with the line:
> Quoth the Raven - "Graack!"
>
>