California Waterfowl biologists trap and band thousands of ducks each year. As part of the banding process they record the gender, weight, general age and other identifying characteristics of the birds. While juveniles and some molting adults can take a little work to determine their sex, most adults close to hunting season are usually easy […]
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The family that hunts together …
by Wayne Tilcock Associate Editor The Mathews family had ducks on their minds when they set their alarm for 3:30 a.m. But this time was a little different than usual. It wasn’t duck season; it was the middle of summer, and their three-and-ahalf-hour journey—that’s each way, mind you—was going to end without a single shot […]
Banner year for banding at CWA
BY JASON COSLOVICH, WATERFOWL BIOLOGIST It was a banner year for the banding crew at California Waterfowl. From the end of 2017-18 season until just before opening day of 2018-19, our team was hard at work across the state banding pintail, mallards and yes, four shovelers. Those efforts led to an all-time high in […]
We’re putting solar collars on specks. Here’s why.
BY WAYNE TILCOCK Have you ever wondered whether growing goose populations might be crowding out and taking food from dabbling duck populations in California in the winter? If so, you’re not alone, and California Waterfowl is assisting a research project that will help answer this question. In partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, the California […]
Summer banding: 1,445 birds banded, 46 volunteers engaged
CWA’s Grasslands banding crew trapped and banded 395 birds using bait traps on state, federal and private lands this summer. We partnered with agencies and landowners to take advantage of the habitat and water allocations that were available in the area for the second year in a row. Waterfowl biologist Jason Coslovich and seasonal technician […]
Grasslands summer banding wraps up with 395 birds banded
This year CWA’s Grasslands summer banding crew trapped and banded 395 birds using bait traps on state, federal and private lands. We partnered with agencies and landowners to take advantage of the habitat and water allocations that were available in the area for the second year in a row. Waterfowl biologist Jason Coslovich and season […]
CWA post-season pintail banding hits record high
It was a record-breaking post-season pintail banding year for California Waterfowl in the Sacramento Valley. In fact, “record-breaking” doesn’t quite capture the magnitude of this event. We took our previous high of pintails banded after duck season, and we shattered it: Prior to 2018, the most pintail we banded in a season was 1,275, back in […]
