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I don't see how a Majestic can live to be 51 weeks old, much less 51 years old, with Ramsey Russell running around with a shotgun in this hand.

Well the luck continues for me. Got another band this year and it was off a woodduck. Bird was banded in Wisconsin in 2012.

I shot a banded pintail right before Christmas that was banded in Saskatchewan back in Aug. 2005.....Said he was born in 2004 or prior.

My girl's first hunt, and my new gun's first shot brought down this drake woody. Second shot got his mate. I'd say both girl and gun are off to a great start!

Banded in Kentucky 2012

I love the bib overalls on that gal - great photo of a memory. Congrats Sam.

Congrats Barq's

Doesn't get much better than either of those two

hntrpat1 wrote:They band everything

I went to a Ducks Unlimited Greenwing camp in Alberta as a kid. We helped out with banding birds caught in the traps. We banded more coots that day than anything.

GET-N-RITE wrote: ...Anyway here is the crazy part about all of this. I called the shoveler in and they told me it was banded in 1963. I asked her if she knew what she was saying and again she says 1963...

My bet is the number is the same as a band used in 1963, and when the new band was created, they forgot to cancel out the old one. Anything older than 10 years is ancient for a duck. The oldest wild duck recorded in North America was 26 years old.

Found this interesting link on banding factoids:
http://www.flyways.us/surveys-and-monit ... g-factoids

So if there are approximately 40 Million ducks in North America, and 200k are banded each year, you have about a 0.5% chance a duck you kill is banded. So you'll have to kill 200 ducks to get a band if duck hunter were 100% mathematical. However, my brother and I have killed about the same amount of ducks, and I've killed 2 bands, and he's killed over 10.

duramax wrote:

GET-N-RITE wrote: ...Anyway here is the crazy part about all of this. I called the shoveler in and they told me it was banded in 1963. I asked her if she knew what she was saying and again she says 1963...

My bet is the number is the same as a band used in 1963, and when the new band was created, they forgot to cancel out the old one. Anything older than 10 years is ancient for a duck. The oldest wild duck recorded in North America was 26 years old.

Found this interesting link on banding factoids:
http://www.flyways.us/surveys-and-monit ... g-factoids

So if there are approximately 40 Million ducks in North America, and 200k are banded each year, you have about a 0.5% chance a duck you kill is banded. So you'll have to kill 200 ducks to get a band if duck hunter were 100% mathematical. However, my brother and I have killed about the same amount of ducks, and I've killed 2 bands, and he's killed over 10.

I killed four ducks with bands two years ago. So how many ducks does that mean I killed?

duramax wrote:
My bet is the number is the same as a band used in 1963, and when the new band was created, they forgot to cancel out the old one. Anything older than 10 years is ancient for a duck. The oldest wild duck recorded in North America was 26 years old.

Me
Could there have been a mistake such as two bands being made with the same number sequence, or an error on recording the bird, upon banding?

Hard for me to believe a person would make a band. Then capture a shoveler, and place it on his leg.

I'm not trying to be smart, but the logic behind someone capturing a duck then releasing it with a federal band is hard for me to believe.

Also in 1963 we know that data was probably not recorded using a computer. This is just a hunch due to fact that I wasn't born yet. Of course it's also hard for me to believe that a duck can live 51 years.

Any information would be appreciated.

USGS
Hi Caleb - I understand the questions. Why persons create counterfeit bands and place them on birds is something we've been trying to figure out aside from the fact that it is illegal. Our database is set up to prevent band numbers being repeated on bands. If it had happened that band numbers were repeated on a new string there would have been at least an entire string (100 bands) created with the same mistake. Given that we have at least 10% recovery rate, by now there would have very likely been other bands recovered and creating similar issues as this report.

Due to how aluminum bands wear it's also impossible that this band has been out on a bird since 1963 and this band looks pretty much brand new.

In cases like yours in the past we've later received emails that friends of the reporter have wanted to play a joke and secretly slipped a purchased band onto a bird.

Sorry I can't be of further assistance,

I'll never forget my first band. Was hunting the catfish farm at Tchula, (my dad was good friends w the owner)which is now Morgan Brake. I was 10 yrs old with my dad and a double barrel stevens 20ga. There must have been 500 wood ducks on an old drained down pond. I had never killed a wood duck and I wanted one BAD. I belly crawled through the tall grasses and got close enough for the shot. The ducks lifted off the pond. I emptied both barrels and one duck fell! It was a male woody WITH A BAND!! Man I miss those days. That catfish farm was some of the best huntin in the world to me.......

GET-N-RITE wrote:

duramax wrote:
My bet is the number is the same as a band used in 1963, and when the new band was created, they forgot to cancel out the old one. Anything older than 10 years is ancient for a duck. The oldest wild duck recorded in North America was 26 years old.

Me
Could there have been a mistake such as two bands being made with the same number sequence, or an error on recording the bird, upon banding?

Hard for me to believe a person would make a band. Then capture a shoveler, and place it on his leg.

I'm not trying to be smart, but the logic behind someone capturing a duck then releasing it with a federal band is hard for me to believe.

Also in 1963 we know that data was probably not recorded using a computer. This is just a hunch due to fact that I wasn't born yet. Of course it's also hard for me to believe that a duck can live 51 years.

Any information would be appreciated.

USGS
Hi Caleb - I understand the questions. Why persons create counterfeit bands and place them on birds is something we've been trying to figure out aside from the fact that it is illegal. Our database is set up to prevent band numbers being repeated on bands. If it had happened that band numbers were repeated on a new string there would have been at least an entire string (100 bands) created with the same mistake. Given that we have at least 10% recovery rate, by now there would have very likely been other bands recovered and creating similar issues as this report.

Due to how aluminum bands wear it's also impossible that this band has been out on a bird since 1963 and this band looks pretty much brand new.

In cases like yours in the past we've later received emails that friends of the reporter have wanted to play a joke and secretly slipped a purchased band onto a bird.

Sorry I can't be of further assistance,

I feel that the likelihood they did duplicate a string is fairly high (Certainly higher than someone forging a band). Say they started banding ducks 50 years ago, that would make for over 10Mil bands created (200k per year). They've been doing it for longer than 50 years, so why is that so crazy to believe that the gov't made a mistake like this? I agree with your assertion that the likelihood that someone would forge a federal band for sheets and giggles is a stretch. Why would you do that? It's not much of a joke. Putting one of those fake bands with something silly written on them would be a whole lot funnier, even if you never got to see the person's reaction.

My son and buddy killed 2 very large Canada geese in bean field in Tallahatchie County this morning that were banded in Cook County Illinois in June 2014. Pretty cool to kill Canada geese that were not resident birds.

And the band numbers were in sequence...only 1 number off from each other.

Little Tipsy scores her first band the last weekend of the season in the greater Tally Metroplex! The bird was 11 years old, and banded in Minnesota.