Mallard and American Black Duck banding, round 2

I am currently the President of, and a member of, my college's chapter of The Wildlife Society. As a Wildlife Society (plus other interested students) event today, we moved our 'Wildlife Wednesday' to today, Monday.

Earlier this month, I joined some local members of our Department of Environment Conservation and USFWS employees to learn how to and why they're targeting American Black Ducks to band. To read about that experience, please check out: ABDU Banding - Cayuga Lake. Today was more of the same, I just did not get enough the first time!

*Quick note: I will refer to the ducks by their alpha code from here on out, which is how their species are ID'd on data sheets used by our state and federal agencies. ABDU= American Black Duck, MALL= Mallards, MALX= American Black Duck Mallard Hybrid (although the below link lists it as something different...). For a complete list of these codes, check out this list: Alpha Codes.

We loaded up a school vehicle with I think 9 students, 1 professor, and 2 staff members of our department... and headed to the east, destination Cayuga Lake. Cayuga is our largest Finger Lake at just shy of 40 miles long, and at it's deepest: 435 feet deep. Because of this, the lake typically doesn't freeze all the way across, unlike most of the smaller Finger Lakes. This winter is not the case, as it's been much to mild for ANYTHING to freeze, let alone the largest Finger Lake. But, in a typical winter, the lake partially freezes, and the birds condense to the sections of the lake with open water, so it is easier to set a trap and have the birds come in for food and get caught. This team of biologists have led the past 2 years (among banding stations within NY) with number of ABDUs caught and banded, and then NYS has led the way out of all the other states in the flyway, who are involved in this banding operation. This year is not the case, as you can see the lake is wide open water, as far as the eye can see.

So, why are the biologists banding ABDUs and MALLs?

Well there seems to be a decline in population of ABDUs...and there are some theories as to why. The usual encroachment/loss of habitat always seems to negatively effect wildlife, but something else and a bit more interesting seems be going on. The ABDUs, MALLs, and another species, Mottled Duck, are hybridizing. I've always been under the impression that different species, which these all are, can not interbreed AND create viable offspring. These are one example of an exception. As it was explained to me, these species must be recent splits from a common ancestor during evolution. To see a comparison of plumage, size, range, etc...I checked out pages 82-83 in my The Sibley's Guide to Birds  (David Allen Sibley, 2000) for some comparison. To a novice, the differences seem miniscule...but not really. Some of the more expert birders with us said that we should eventually be able to distinguish the species through a pair of binoculars. Hmm...we'll see. The feathers in the picture, by the way, are feathers I found on the ground on the shoreline of the beach! I might try to figure out who they came from.

When we arrived at the boat launch, the team already had checked the traps along the lake and collected what ducks they could. These crates shown are not traps, just 'holding tanks' if you will. Below I have a picture of a trap.

A holding crate full of MALLs, males and females.

Scott, of the USFWS, explaining this trap. Name of the trap is the Montezuma Confusion Trap. Developed in part by someone who worked at/for the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in Upstate NY, and it's confusing because of the engineering of it. Explanation below:

This is a front view of the trap. The hole in the middle, where the bottom arrow points, is the entrance. The birds see the corn, and follow the edge of the trap until they reach the opening. Once they're inside, crunching on some delicious corn, they eventually can make their way into the side wings (where the top arrows are pointing). Once inside, due to the shape of the trap, it is difficult for them to figure their way out. Confusion!

Back at the holding traps, Frank (DEC Wildlife Tech at North Montezuma Wildlife Management Area) takes out a male and female MALL. The way he's holding the birds in this and subsequent photos is the way the birds are handled. Their physiology allows for their wings to be pinned back, and they are held tight. This helps to calm the bird, and minimize chance for injury.

John, Scott, and Frank all holding ducks. From left to right: John has a female ABDU, Scott has a male ABDU, and Frank has a female and male MALL.

One of the easiest ways to distinguish male/female ABDUs from eachother is bill color. The females have this dark green, often saddled coloration. The male has a nice bright yellow bill.

These two above photos are of a hybridized MALL and ABDU, expressing more MALL than the other. There were other features we looked at, like coloration of the wing feathers, especially the speculum (the pretty blue band on the wing), but I left my notes on their truck, and don't think I can recall all of that from memory. Isn't the plumage gorgeous?

Male MALL wing...the blue feathers are referred to as a speculum. Don't Google duck speculum without being prepared, I wasn't.

Petra with a female MALL and Brad with a male MALL! Both are club members, and active in the club!

Judi and Leslie both holding male MALLs. Leslie, thanks for sharing your picture!

Melissa and Adam each with a male MALL. Thanks for the pic Adam! I love those orange feet.

FLCC Conservation Dept Technician Ryan Staychock and I showing off some handsome male MALLs!

I'll end this blog post, although I could go on and on about all that we learned, with myself banding a duck. I've done it before on a Wood Duck last fall, and I've banded little birds, I think a Black-capped Chickadee. So even though I had a bit of experience under my belt, I was still nervous about all eyes on me and of course handling the bird safely.

Photo credit: Judi McDougall

It was kind like being at the supermarket or seafood restaurant, I got to pick my own bird...like picking your lobster. Except, I didn't eat this bird. So I rooted around in the cage until I was able to pin one down.

Photo credits: Judi McDougall

Next I did a once over of the bird to make sure he was in good general health. No obvious wounds, loss of major feathers, or anything else that would affect this bird's health.

Photo credit: Judi McDougall

I then aged the bird. There's alot to it, and I'm by NO means an expert at micro-aging based on plumage. But, with help of the experts, I was able to age this bird as a Second Year, born sometime last year. The feathers of a juvenile vs. adult duck have different qualities about them, which enables those of us who can differentiate, the age.

Photo credit: Judi McDougall

I said a quick apology in advance for what was about to come...

Photo credit: Judi McDougall

And then flipped him over and got him into banding position.

Photo credit: Judi McDougall

This really is a great way to hold the bird while banding. They are held tight, which comforts them, and they're unable to flap around which could damage their wings.

Photo credit: Judi McDougall

Photo credit: Judi McDougall

Finally I fit a band into the special pliers, and squeezed it around the ducks leg. The pliers only close so far, so there was no risk of pinching his leg. After closing it, I spun the band and squeezed all the way around to make sure it was tight, and that there were no sharp edges on the band. Then I read to the recorder the species, sex, age, and band number, which was recorded on a data sheet. 

Success!

Banded and neither of us worse for the wear. I wish I wasn't covering the band, but you'll have to take my word for it, he was blinged-out.

And thus concludes another fantastic day in the field, learning, hanging with great people, and handling some amazing creatures. Lucky girl I am!

ABDU banding - Cayuga Lake

Another awesome experience: checked off my list!

I was able to be a part of an American Black Duck (ABDU) banding session with some Department of Environmental Conservation employees on Friday February 3rd. Myself, and 3 friends from school: Katie, Patty, and Sara joined others on the quest for ABDUs!

We met at our local National Wildlife Refuge: Montezuma. I guess I'm pretty lucky to say I HAVE a local National Wildlife Refuge. It's PRIME waterfowl birding territory, there's a really cool wildlife drive you can take, and many other neat learning experiences for people like me :)

So we met the team at the NWR, and got the rundown of why they were targeting ABDUs specifically, how they were catching them, and what we would be doing once we got to the trap sites.

The leader of the day was Frank Morlock, a Region 8 Wildlife Technician. Although the NWR is federally owned, there is a state owned portion of the land, and that's where Frank works. I met Frank this past fall when my Wildlife Management class took a field trip out to the state land of Montezuma to do some wood duck banding with Frank and his team.

Photo credit: Katie Boye

We all piled in a van and headed for Cayuga Lake, the largest Finger Lake we have. This is significant because in a TYPICAL winter season, most of the lake is frozen over, but not all the way. This is usually the only lake that has open water on it, which concentrates the waterfowl. Because we've had very few inches of snow and very mild temperatures, the DEC team has not had a very successful trapping season. For the past 2 years they've been able to boast being the MOST successful ABDU banders in NY as well as in this migration flyway down the East Coast. At this time last year they had banded ~150 ABDUs, and this year only about 40. There's alot more food available and open coast for the birds to disperse to.

Anyway, we arrived at the first site and there were a few ducks in the trap. FYI- the trap is a LIVE trap that the birds can get into, but not out of. I'll explain below.

The wire cage is actually the trap, and the wooden cage is the holding cage where the birds wait while we process them.

Here is the trap. It's an incredibly simple design, yet very successful. Below is an edited version to help you see how the ducks enter the cage.

The top two arrows funnel the birds in. Many animals follow edges, it seems to be a behavioral thing. So, the birds follow the edge in the opening, which funnels them in, and then if they walk the perimeter of the common area (the center square), the opening leads them away from the opening. It's brilliant! Then, on the sides of the common area, there are other funnels to the left and the right, as shown by the straight arrows. Same concept here. The ducks get stuck in there, and hang out until the team comes to check on them, which is only a few hours. The animals are not left for long periods of time.

The holding tank.

Frank and Scott explaining the differences between Mallards and ABDUs. They look very similar, hang out together, and apparently are even hybridizing.

Isn't this a BEAUTIFUL animal? Sometimes the most common animals, a duck, are gorgeous. I know I'm guilty of not taking the time to appreciate their gorgeous plumage!

Photo credit: Sara York

Here I am with this gorgeous male Mallard! Just after this picture, I set him free. What a feeling to let a wild animal fly free from your hands!

Here are a female and male Black Duck. The female is on the left: olive colored bill, often a dark 'saddle' on the top. The male, on the right: bright yellow bill.

Katie and a female ABDU!

Photo credit: Katie Boye

Sara and I with female ABDUs!

Many of the birds were recaptures, so we were able to handle them, but not all of us could go through the process of banding. Below are pictures of Patty banding an ABDU.

Band kit: Federal bands usually come on strings of 100. The pliers on the left are specially made to fit these bands that are for ducks or birds of similar size. The band can go no smaller than that hole, so the animal doesn't get hurt.

Bird bands are closely monitored federally or by state. I have had experience tagging small mammals when I took the Winter Ecology course, and THOSE tags are not monitored. Birds can and will migrate all over the world, and are typically long-lived. The chances of someone banding in Tenessee and catching one of our NY birds is high, where as someone would NEVER catch a NY meadow vole. They don't migrate, and rarely live longer than a year. The numbers on the band signify when (what year/season) the bird was banded and where. So when that biologist in TN gets one of "our" ABDUs, they can look up the number and see where the bird has travelled from. Wow!

The way to safely hold the bird while banding is to flip it upside-down, and gently but firmly clamp it between your legs. Birds tend to enter a trance-like state when flipped over. And the tight grip helps to make them feel secure, like they won't fall. Patty then picked out the leg she was going to band (doesn't matter which), and fit the pliers and band around the leg.

All done, Patty and the male ABDU with his new shiny bling!

Finally, I'll explain why ABDUs were being targeted and not other species. ABDUs seem to be in decline and the true reason is unknown. Some possible reasons include: loss of habitat (same old tragic story), and more interestingly: the hybridization of ABDUs and Mallards.



 American Black Duck wing

Mallard wing - as you can see they look VERY similar. The Mallard though, has bright white bars surrounding that blue speculum. Easy to confuse, but this is a sure-fire way to correctly ID the ducks.

Young male Mallards or if they're not in the breeding plumage may also look very similar to ABDUs, as well as female Mallards. BUT, the reason they're hybridizing is not because they can't tell eachother apart, because they can. It may just be that in dire situations if there aren't suitable mates of the same species nearby, breeding with a different species is better than not at all. It seems the main purpose of all wild animals are to just perpetuate their species and dreams. Some creatures just breed and then die!

I've ALWAYS learned that sometimes different species can breed, but do not create viable offspring.

Example: Donkey + Horse= Mule. The mule is sterile, therefore a new species can not be created.

BUT ABDUs and Mallards seem to have been a "recent" evolutionary split on the phylogenetic tree, so they are able to interbreed AND create viable offspring. I didn't believe it at first. Other examples are coydogs (coyote + domestic dog), wolf-dogs (gray/red wolf + domestic dog), and any other combination you can make out of coyote, wolf, and dog. Geologically speaking, they were "recently" the same animal. Kind of.

I'm probably not explaining this as thoroughly as I should...but this is the level of my understanding right now! Like I said, up until 6pm yesterday I thought different species COULD NOT interbreed and create viable offspring. Who knew?!