BANDING OF 1200 WILD DUCKS

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27576, 5 February 1955, Page 2

BANDING OF 1200 WILD DUCKS

Wild Life Division’s Task

THREE-WEEK PROJECT IN MANAWATU

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, February 4. A start will be made tomorrow tq band about 1200 grey and mallard ducks in the Manawatu district. Each band will carry a number, the date of issue, and the address of the Wild Life Division of the Department of Internal Affairs, to which sportsmen are asked to return the band in the shooting season. The job is expected to take three weeks. Banding reveals some interesting facts on the habits and survival of the birds. The grey duck, for instance, is of a roving disposition. Banded in the Manawatu district, it will be a target for shooters from Southland to the far north. The mallard, however, does not move far from its accustomed habitat. It is estimated that during the last six years 7200 ducks have been banded m New Zealand. “Co-operation from our sportsmen,” says Dr. R. W. Balhem, waterfowl biologist of the department, “is as good as anywhere else in the world. We receive up to 400 bands every year from shooters, who show a keen interest in the previous history of the birds they bag.” Licensed shooters increased from 8000 in 1932 to more than 24,000 by 1952, and there are in addition farmers and other landowners who do not require licences to shoot on their own properties. Banding carried out over a period of years will enable the division to establish the duck mortality from shooting and other causes, and will indicate the number that can be shot each year.