Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    Why don't you try calling them. You gave us there number.
    
    Keep us imformed.

         Here's what you need to send:

	 o Bird-band number (that's what the number on the band is)
	 o Date when the bird was recovered
	 o Location where the bird was recovered
	 o How recovered (found dead or shot)
         
         Unlike the surveys where hunters mail in goose tails, duck
         wings, and woodcock wings, the bird-banding program sends you
         information about your bird. In a few weeks you'll receive a
         certificate telling when and where the bird was banded and
         its approximate age when banded. 
                                                
         Waterfowl sometimes wander onto different flyways and even
         continents. It can be fun to learn that your duck was banded
         in some faraway place like Greenland. For this reason, I
         anxiously awaited the reports on my bands. I was disappointed
         to find that my Canada goose and my black duck where
         yearlings that were banded exactly where I shot them.
                                                
         In your letter or postcard, ask for the interesting pamphlet
         that explains the bird-banding program.
                                                
         As to the address, just "Bird Band, Washington DC" will get
         you there. I've got the complete address of the bird banding
         laboratory and I'll post it if I manage to find it.
             
         As to the actual metal band, some hunters straighten the band
         and sent it in, however, you're free to keep it. It makes a
         nifty souvenir attached to the lanyard of your duck or goose
         call.

         I asked about the word "avise" when I sent in a band number.
         I received a letter explaining that "avise" is for
         Spanish-speaking Mexican's and South American's who
         understand it to mean "advise." 

         I'm glad to hear that you want to participate in this
         worthwhile program. Believe it or not, there are more than a
         small minority of waterfowlers who don't bother reporting
         banded birds. An article in one of the sporting magazines
         noted that such hunters are "either ignorant or lazy." It's
         only a postcard and two minutes of your time.

         Doug
                                                                   

    Thanks.  I will mail it to that address and see what happens.  I
    will also let you know if the bird has an interesting history.
    
    Bear, I had already started to "call" and discovered I was short
    a few digits.
    
    Mark,
    

    I have sent information in several times on bands taken from
    Cormorants.  I received a postcard, confirming that they got the
    information, about a month later.  The certificate, with all the
    bird's history, did't arrive for about six months.
    
    BTW:  Yes, I did legally shoot the Cormorants, as part of the Cormorant
    Depredation Program here in Maine.
    
    Mike

         That's interesting. Care to tell us about this Cormorant
         Depredation Program? 

         Were the cormorants causing some kind of damage? Was the
         hunting restricted to certain zones? How did you hunt them? 
         Finally, did you try eating them?
             
         Doug

    About 5 years ago an Atlantic Salmon hatchery on the coast was raided
    and practically wiped out by Cormorants.  This along with the
    tremendous population of these birds prompted a special program
    to hunt them.
    
    Cormorants, Shags, Sh*tboats, will eat anything from eels to baby
    Black Ducks.  They are found mostly near the coast, but they can
    usually be found in almost any lake or pond.  They look like an
    ugly Loon from a distance and weigh 4-8 pounds.  They are divers
    and can cover an awful lot of distance under water.
    
    To get a permit, one had to fill out a form stating where you wanted
    to hunt and why you wanted to hunt them.  This form had to be signed
    by your local Warden and approved by the DIFW.  The permit was free
    and valid from early April to late June.
    
    You had to hunt during daylight hours, with a shotgun, away from
    other boaters and towns.  You couldn't hunt in a Cormorant rookerie
    or wildlife reserves.  You could, however, use lead shot and a power
    boat.  You were supposed to examine the stomache contents of each
    bird and dispose of them properly.
    
    My father and I hunted them on the Kennebec and Eastern Rivers in
    the towns of Richmond, Bowdoinham, and Dresden.  On our best day
    we got 26.  The stomaches contained small Striped Bass (6-12 inches
    long), Eels, Perch, and some kind of parasitic worms.  
    
    The part that bothered us the most was the number of Stripers that
    they were eating.  It was not uncommon to find one with 2 or even
    three Stripers in its stomache at one time.  The State was/is trying
    to increase the Striper population which lead to an increase in
    the minimum legal length limit from 28" to 31".  
    
    I know the 50-60 we shot each spring didn't even dent the population
    and I don't think there was more than 20 or so people in the state 
    hunting them.  I havn't even checked on a permit in 2 years, so
    I don't know if the program still exists.  Hopefully this spring
    I will have some time to hunt them again.
    
    BTW, no we didn't eat them. There is not that much meat on them
    and they don't keep well in the bottom of a boat during that time
    of the year.
    
    Mike
    

    
    RE:6 
    
    "You had to state why you wanted to hunt them"
    
    What did you say ?
    
    You know, We have the same problem here in N.H. LOTs of them.
    It seems like all of a sudden I noticed thousands of them everywhere.
    
    Ive never shot one as I did'nt know the law, Are they a pretty bird
    forwhat they are ?  Can anypart of the bird be utilized ? I don't
    think I would want to eat them as there pure fish eaters..
    
    Are they tough to kill, what # shot do you use ?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Rick (A thousand questions, You have me wondering about summer hunts)
    

    We used everything from #7 1/2 to #2 lead shot.  The light loads
    didn't work very well and I would suggest #4 or #2 waterfoul loads.
    They are pretty tough to kill right out of the air.  Usually, if
    they have any life left once they hit the water, they will dive
    and swim away under water.  Once they surface you have to have the
    bead right on them or they will dive as soon as they spot you.
     
    At first, we were just dumping the carcasses in the river for the
    Sea Gulls, but after we watched a Bald Eagle drive a Sea Gull away,
    we decided we'd better take them home to the dumpster.  It's bad
    enough for Biologists to think that lead shot is killing ducks,
    let alone Eagles.  I suppose they might make do for Coyote bait.
    
    As far as a reason for hunting them we just said that due to the
    vast numbers of them we felt that they we having an adverse effect
    on the fish and duck population.
    
    Mike

         Report banded birds to:

		Bird Banding Laboratory
		U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
		Laurel, MD  20811

         Doug

    
    Thanks for the more complete address, Doug.
    
    The timing of this note was good.  Although I had never gotten a
    banded bird before the woodie earlier this year, a week after entering
    this note Michael and I dropped 3 geese from a flock.  All three
    were banded.
    
    I will be mailing the information in this week and will let y'all
    know when I get any info back.
    
    Thanks,
    Mark
    

    After approximately 13 weeks, I got my first reply back in the
    mail last night.  I assume the others will trickle in over the
    next few days.
    
    The goose we got was banded the June 30, 1988 near Plum Island.  We
    shot it at Parker River so this "migratory" bird wasn't more than
    a mile from where it was born.  I assume the other 2 geese will be
    the same.
    
    Will let you know about the woodduck when I hear on that one.
    
    Mark,
    

    I got the certificates for the other two geese.  It wasn't quite what I
    expected.  We took the 3 banded geese from the same flock and they were
    all the same size (small as geese go).  I assumed they were all young.
    two of them were banded on Plum Island last summer when they were too
    young to fly.  The 3rd was also banded on Plum Island, but was banded
    as an adult in July of '86.  That means it was at least 3 1/2 years
    old (and still living in the same area).
    
    Those geese weighed about 8 pounds each.  If one of them was 3 1/2 
    years old, I wonder how old the bigger geese (11-12 pounds) we've
    gotten were?
    
    Anyone one out there have any idea how old these geese around here
    (where they are hunted) get?
    
    Another point of interst is that all three were female.
    
    On the back of the return certificate it says that 34 million birds
    have been banded in North America through 1976 (old certificats no 
    doubt) and nearly 2 million have been recovered.  I was suprised that
    is only a 5%-6% rate of return.
    
    Mark,
    
    Do any of you 

         Mark,

         I think there are several strains or subspecies of Canada
         Geese which are distinguished mainly by size. The 11 to 12
         pounders are probably the "Greater" Canada Geese. I don't
         know the strain of your 3 1/2 year old bird, but I suspect it
         would be full grown at that age.

         Like your birds, my banded black duck and Canada Goose were
         banded near Plum Island and shot at Parker River. Same goes
         for my partner's banded goose. 
             
         In .11 and .12 you seem to imply that the geese may not have
         been migrants. It's true that a lot of birds stay at Plum
         Island year round, but I wouldn't assume that a goose shot in
         December had no intention of flying south for the winter and
         returning to the refuge in the spring.
                 
         Doug

    Mark I sorta agree with doug.
    
    There are many dogs and a springer spaniel is a 30-50 pd
    dog.( I just grabbed at these figures as an approximation)
    
    Labs are usually much bigger because of Genetics not age.
    Age can have something to do with weight as well as food
    supply.
    
    I have a book that has maybe 13 or 15 ( I forget ) strains
    of Canadian Geese and they all are of different weights.
    
    Purhaps because all these Geese pretty much look the same to the
    untrained eye we assume thaey are all of the same strain
    but in actuallity they are not.
    
    bear
    

    Could it be that the 11-12 pound birds were the same sub-species
    but males as opposed to the 8 lb females?
    
    /brett
    

    Bear, Doug,
    
    You are probably correct about the different sub-species.  I knew
    there were some sub-species of canada geese, but I had no idea it was
    as many as 12-15.
    
    Bear, do you have any other interesting info in your book about canada
    geese?  I'm really curious about the average lifespan of hunted canada
    geese.  I had assumed most of the geese I got last year were young
    (since they were foolish enough to let a rookie like me shoot them :-) )
    
    Doug, you may be right that they would (or did) migrate south later.
    Since this was late December, I assumed those leaving would have left
    already.
    
    I also got my wood duck info back.  The bird was banded in 9/86 in
    Deleware, so it was 2 1/2 years old when I shot it in Oct. on the
    Souhegan River here in N.H.
    
    Mark,