How to Report an Observation of an Auxiliary Marked Bird Neck Bands or Collars Goose collars are used to study goose populations or track geese as part of a research project. Collars can be easily read from a distance with binoculars or a telescope. This allows researchers to identify an individual bird using the combination of collar color, code color, and the code on the collar. Goose collars come in many different colors. It is possible to see several colors in one area, as color may indicate the flyway or a special project.
Collars come in two shapes.
Most collars that are used today are cylinders of hard plastic. On the east coast of the United States and Canada, bib-type collars are seen. These collars are cone-shaped and made of flexible vinyl. Collars may have 3 or 4 characters on them. It is important to report collars with characters facing two directions with care.