Episode 18: Talking Bands I

Overview Imagine the stories that bands and the waterfowl who wear them would tell if they could talk. We try to bring those muted voice to life in this episode by talking with Drs. John Eadie, Robert “Rocky” Rockwell, Jim Sedinger and Mr. Brandt Meixell about the 100,000s of birds they have banded. Show Notes 0:25 – Introduction and Background on Waterfowl Banding. 6:22 – Jim Sedinger starts us off with stories about banded Black Brant, including the amazing story about the “Marnie Bands”. 30:45 – We transition to stories from John Eadie about banded Wood Ducks. John uses some cutting edge technology to learn really cool things about Woodies. How many nest boxes do you think a hen Wood Duck visits during a breeding season? 50:45 – Rocky Rockwell tells us his stories about Snow Geese based on his 51 years of experience and his involvement with banding more than 250,000 geese. Rocky has the added challenge of banding around Polar Bears. 1:10:00 – Brandt Meixell, who is duck catching machine, shares stories about the hows of catching ducks and the love story of a duck named Romeo. Do you think a Bufflehead has ever been harvested in Columbia? 1:24:15 – We finish with a general discussion of the value of banding data and the essential partnership between hunters and biologists for generating some these data. Report your bands and please don’t target bands. Additional Resources US Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory Report Your Bands! DU podcast on banding, citizen science, and band targeting – episodes 33 and 34 in Season 1. Photo Credit: David Stimac (see also https://www.davidstimac.com/index)