With a cage full of ducks back on shore, we take a duck out of the cage and begin the process of identifying species, sex and age.
Dean with a Pintail |
We use several field marks to determine sex and age. We look first at eye color (for Cinnamon Teal) and bill color (Mallards). These give us an idea of male/female, but are not conclusive. We then look at the tail feathers. If the tips are notched it is usually a Hatch Year bird, but with feather wear this (again) is not conclusive.
This big duck is a Mallard, and the yellow/green bill tells us that it is most likely a male. Females have orange bills.
We extend a wing to look at patterns and compare them with a book that shows wings of each species broken down by male/female and hatch year/after hatch year. This, along with the field marks mentioned above usually get us close.
This is a male Cinnamon Teal. The red eye and wing pattern help to confirm this. Since he is in eclipse plumage (molting) he lacks the trademark cinnamon color. But he still has his honkin' big bill!!
But the final determination is made by "venting" the bird. That is examining the genetalia to make the final determination of sex, and in many cases, age. To do this we flip the bird upside down, gently spread the vent, and look for the sex organs. Since the vent serves several purposes this is also a good way to get pooped on!!
Flipping the bird over so that I can vent it to determine sex and age.
Once the identification is finished, it is time to put on the band. Check out Part 3 in a couple of days to see how the bands are placed.
Mark
We've rocket netted ducks to band them, and mist netted songbirds to band... Your duck banding project looks kind of like a combination of the two. We're just now baiting here at Aroostook NWR and will (hopefully) do some banding in a couple of weeks. But by then we won't be here to join that fun :(
ReplyDeleteI was a licensed bird bander for 20 years, so I know about that venting stuff. :)
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