DUCK BANDING AT THE LAKE ANDES NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

What is duck banding? Who does duck banding? Why is duck banding important? For most people these types of questions never even cross their mind unless they are a part of an ornithological organization, work for a wildlife organization or are a duck hunter. Duck banding is method that is used to help study different aspects of ducks as well as identify ducks through the use of a band attached to their leg, beak or foot. Duck banding is an important part aiding the Migratory Bird Division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in information regarding duck’s dispersal, migration, behavior, social structure, life span, population, estimated survival and productivity, toxicology, disease research which in turn helps them in their conservation efforts of setting hunting regulations and detecting changes in any waterfowl populations. All of the data that is garnered from each reported duck band is entered into the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) database to be used for analyses and studies.