The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-09-28
JOURNEY MANY MILES.
Trapped Birds, Marked and Released,
Are Reported When Hunter Bags
Them.


The marking of migratory Waterfowl,
which has been practiced by the collab-
orators of the Biological Survey, United
States department of agriculture. has
given evidence that il viii be a most in
tereSting and important investigation.
Although the work has been in progress
for only two years it has had notable
results. it is announced. Ducks and
other birds, the movements of which are
being studied by this method. are caught.
mainly by the use of special traps light
aluminium bands are placed on one leg
and the captives are released, says de
partmental report. Every band bears a
serial number and the legend. Biol.
Surv., Wash. ID. c." In the Washing
ton office of the Biological Survey these
landed birds are card indexed. so that
when Il hunter bags Il duck bearing 4
band and reports its capture, by refer
ring to the card file the route covered by
the bird in question can be ascertained
When such records are received the
hunter is advised where the bird was
banded, while the person who attached
the band is informed where the bird fell.
During fall shooting seasons for the
last few years large number of NAL
lardS and black ducks with few blue
winged teal and other species. have been
banded at Il small lake about 20 miles
north of Toronto. Ont, and many inter
eSLtIlS returns nave Deem received.
The best lOng-range record for these
Canadian ducks is that of blue-wiuged
teal banded Sept ~. 1920. and killed
two months and seven days later in the
Caroni swamp near Port of Spain. on
the Island of Trinidad. just off the coast
of Venezuela. The shortest flight that
this bird could have made to get there
would be over 5000 miles. 1t is well
known that blue-winged teals and GER
tain other ducks that breed in North
American winter in South America, but
ii was rather surprise to learn that
those individuals that had bred. in Can
ida would make the long flight TO South
America, because the species also VIM
terS in the Gulf region, and il Is to that
area that the more northern birds might
be expected to go.
The return record of ducks of other
species. banded near Toronto. have af-
forded valuable data relative TO their
migration" the report continues The
lake where the banding was done. Lake
Scugog. is surrounded by marshes and
thus offers excellent opportunities for
the ducks to feed and rest before start
ing the long flight to the South. The
trapping and banding were carried on
continuously through the autumn, 50
that by the time the big southwark move
ment began several hundred birds had
been marked. At this time the season
was open from the Great Lakes to the
Gulf of Mexico and the migrating birds
had to run a veritnble gantlet of sports
men. A large number of return records
were therefore received.
In tracing the route of these birds IT
seemed apparent that the mallards and
black ducks Travelled together and their
course from Lake Scugog was south
westward along the shores of Lake Erie
By way of the St. Clair flats. Here the
route divided. the majority continuing
toward the Southwest. cr0ss-country to
the Ohio river, thence to the Mississippi
valley. where many of them spent the
winter. The second group, that parted
from their fellows in \the vicinity of Lake
Erie. took n southeasterly route. crossing
the Aneghenies and reaching the Attain
tic coast by way of Chesapeake and Del
aware BAYS. 1t is interesting that, al
though both of these kinds of ducks are
present and the black duck Is plentiful
along the coast of New England, none OF
the birds marked at Lake Scugog was
taken in that region. The question that
naturally rises is: Where do those ducks
come from? SO far we only know that
some breed in that area, but We do not
know lust where the migrating birds
come from that use that route. Bird
banding will probably supply the answer
when it has been applied more lnten-
sively at a larger number of stations.