There is a natural progression in hunting and fishing behavior: The first thing you want to do is catch a fish or harvest an animal. Next, you want to catch lots of fish and harvest many animals. Then you want one of the biggest fish and one of the largest animals of a species. Then you want lots of big fish and lots of big animals. It’s a vicious cycle that has ruined more than one marriage and emptied many a sportsmen’s savings account. Then there is a whole other level of madness: Waterfowl leg bands. Maybe it’s because they don’t come around all that often – they are a rarity for even the most dedicated hunter. Maybe it’s because they look so cool on a lanyard, or make us feel significant as waterfowl hunters; a strange way of “keeping score”, or measuring ability. Whatever it is, they are special, and one is never enough. Hell, twenty, or fifty may not be enough either. At Trophy Room we refer to taking a banded duck or goose as, “taking a trip to band land”.
I know people who have hunted their entire lives and not shot a single banded bird. I also know rookies who have joined a hunt on a whim and shot a neck banded Canada goose with double leg bands. I’ve seen arguments erupt in the field and in the blind over who shot the banded bird. They carry some sort of power over waterfowl hunters and they take on a much deeper meaning in fowling circles. They are a status symbol of the highest degree in the waterfowl hunting world. Like a lot of things in the hunting world, “more is more” with waterfowl bands. The more bands on your lanyard, the more of a waterfowl expert you are, or so it appears.
I’m not a waterfowl expert, nor do I pretend to be. I do, however, have an opinion about improving your odds of harvesting a banded bird. Number one, it helps to be lucky. Number two, every duck or goose you shoot improves your odds of collecting a banded bird. Number three, it helps dramatically to hunt where disproportionate numbers of birds are banded (e.g., hunt local geese). Simply put, sooner or later it will happen, but you can increase your odds. Do your best to subscribe to those three statements and you will be on your way to Band Land.
Bands are fascinating because there is a story behind each one of them. A couple of years ago I was looking at a buddy’s single goose band on his lanyard, and I could barely read the numbers on it. The band was worn so thin, it was nearly illegible. He shot the goose on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and it was banded 19 years earlier in Northern Alberta. 19 years and thousands of miles…How many decoy spreads had that honker seen? How many times had it been shot at? How many calling, blinding, camouflage, and decoy fads had it seen come and go? I’ve read stories in DU Magazine about Pintails banded in Japan that were harvested in Louisiana years later. How does a duck do that? It’s often these stories that become the most fascinating and unbelievable tales in the waterfowl world.
I must admit that I too like shooting banded birds. In fact, I like it so much I decided to finally shoot my first banded duck last weekend. Like lots of things, I figured it would be worth the wait. It was. After seeing more ducks than I care to remember fall, and the requisite lifting up of each bird and checking for a leg adorned with jewelry, a fine drake mallard I’d shot finally had one. It had two, as a matter of fact. I figure the duck gods were making up for all those years of patience. And the good people at the United States Fish and Wildlife service were nice enough to send me $10.00 for my trouble. So I’ve decided that I’m going to take another trip to Band Land at my earliest convenience. I like it there.
Straight Shots,
Trophy Room
Posted in Hunting on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
