May good fortune and beauty fly your way in 2012!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Just ducky, 2!
Just in case you wondered, here's the last step in the duck banding process.
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| BioB releases Northern Pintail with new jewelry |
Monday, December 12, 2011
Just ducky, thank you!
'Tis the season...
We had a good snow a few days ago that put us up to nearly a third of our average yearly precipitation, yay!! However, the relentless cold that accompanied the front has most of the waterways on the refuge frozen, severely reducing our A+ rating among migrating waterfowl. Already our duck count is down, waaaaay down.
M, B-Dawg and I haven't had the time to duck hunt this season so the prospect of no duck gumbo this winter darkened my thoughts as I drove home from the bi-weekly waterfowl count. I was watching the still-icy road rather carefully when something in my peripheral vision caught my attention... that stubble field was not a pristine white landscape, there were odd brown bumps all over it! I slowed down, grabbed the camera and did a u-turn as soon as it was safe, knowing -- Oh Joy!-- what I would find...
Although I haven't been hunting yet, I've had more than few ducks in hand over the last few weeks. My local refuge's biologist (BioJefe) participates in the North American Bird Banding project and this time of year it's all about the ducks. You know that highly prized 'jewelry' waterfowlers everywhere add to their lanyards? This is how it gets there...
While we have the ducks in hand, a few non-invasive* measurements are taken...
We also take wing, tarsus, and head measurements, and determine whether the bird is an adult or juvenile. All data are reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory.
Occasionally we trap a duck that has been banded before -- a most spectacular drake Mallard banded at the same refuge in 2007 is the oldest one I've seen thus far -- and sometimes we get other waterfowl that are not subject to banding.
What an education this has been, and continues to be! Some have asked, but I have no problem participating in this conservation and species management program and then eating a wonderful bowl of duck gumbo made with birds we harvested ourselves. Hunters and anglers support conservation in myriad ways: through the sale of licenses, tags, stamps, and equipment; donations; political action; countless hours in in the field, stream and ocean; and through groups like Duck Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the Coastal Conservation Association, just to name a few. Volunteering to help collect the scientific data that forms the basis for waterfowl management is just another way to help ensure their future. My reasons for hunting? Well, that's another post... although I'm pretty sure it's a form of AOH.
If you're lucky enough to bag a tagged duck or goose, or come across any bird with a band, don't forget to report it to www.reportband.gov. You'll get an email or letter telling you what's known about your bird (here are some stories you might be able to top) and the data you submit makes you part of the citizen scientists that make this program a success. If you want to see the stats for banding efforts and recovery by species -- along with some fun trivia -- start here.
We had a good snow a few days ago that put us up to nearly a third of our average yearly precipitation, yay!! However, the relentless cold that accompanied the front has most of the waterways on the refuge frozen, severely reducing our A+ rating among migrating waterfowl. Already our duck count is down, waaaaay down.
M, B-Dawg and I haven't had the time to duck hunt this season so the prospect of no duck gumbo this winter darkened my thoughts as I drove home from the bi-weekly waterfowl count. I was watching the still-icy road rather carefully when something in my peripheral vision caught my attention... that stubble field was not a pristine white landscape, there were odd brown bumps all over it! I slowed down, grabbed the camera and did a u-turn as soon as it was safe, knowing -- Oh Joy!-- what I would find...
 |
| wigeon with pintails slumming off-refuge |
Although I haven't been hunting yet, I've had more than few ducks in hand over the last few weeks. My local refuge's biologist (BioJefe) participates in the North American Bird Banding project and this time of year it's all about the ducks. You know that highly prized 'jewelry' waterfowlers everywhere add to their lanyards? This is how it gets there...
 |
| BioJefe & BioJ remove duck from trap |
 |
| talk sweetly to the mallard hen |
 |
| 'with this ring, I thee... tag in the name of science!' |
While we have the ducks in hand, a few non-invasive* measurements are taken...
 |
| weighing a female bufflehead |
 |
| measuring a mallard hen's culmen** |
We also take wing, tarsus, and head measurements, and determine whether the bird is an adult or juvenile. All data are reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory.
Occasionally we trap a duck that has been banded before -- a most spectacular drake Mallard banded at the same refuge in 2007 is the oldest one I've seen thus far -- and sometimes we get other waterfowl that are not subject to banding.
 |
| not a duck (BioB holds a pied-billed grebe) |
What an education this has been, and continues to be! Some have asked, but I have no problem participating in this conservation and species management program and then eating a wonderful bowl of duck gumbo made with birds we harvested ourselves. Hunters and anglers support conservation in myriad ways: through the sale of licenses, tags, stamps, and equipment; donations; political action; countless hours in in the field, stream and ocean; and through groups like Duck Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the Coastal Conservation Association, just to name a few. Volunteering to help collect the scientific data that forms the basis for waterfowl management is just another way to help ensure their future. My reasons for hunting? Well, that's another post... although I'm pretty sure it's a form of AOH.
If you're lucky enough to bag a tagged duck or goose, or come across any bird with a band, don't forget to report it to www.reportband.gov. You'll get an email or letter telling you what's known about your bird (here are some stories you might be able to top) and the data you submit makes you part of the citizen scientists that make this program a success. If you want to see the stats for banding efforts and recovery by species -- along with some fun trivia -- start here.
*That's right, Intrepid Reader, no ducks are harmed in the collection of this scientific data... although the drake Mallards might disagree based on the criteria for determining whether they are adults or juveniles. Sigh... you can't just take their word for it.
** that's the top of her bill
Friday, December 9, 2011
To each his/her own...
Just had to share these.
15 in. Black Swarovski Covered Deer Skull
Retail: $3,599.00*
PRODUCT DETAILS
- Swarovski embellished deer skull
- One of a kind
- Authentic skull with natural imperfections
- Hand-applied black Swarovski crystals
- Raw, unfinished horns
- Electro-plating keeps all natural cranial sutures visible
- Weighs 3 pounds
- Created in Venice, CA by KIDZAG
- Dimensions: 14W x 14D x 15H inches
- Final Sale item - not eligible for return
16 in. Nickel Plated Ram Skull
Retail: $2,199.00
PRODUCT DETAILS
- Nickel plated ram skull
- One of a kind
- Authentic skull with natural imperfections
- Raw, unfinished horns
- Electro-plating keeps all natural cranial sutures visible
- Weighs 3 pounds
- Created in Venice, CA by KIDZAG
- Dimensions: 16W x 12D x 8H inches
- Final Sale item - not eligible for return
8 in. Swarovski Covered Coyote Skull
Retail: $1,099.00
PRODUCT DETAILS
- Swarovski embellished coyote skull
- One of a kind
- Authentic skull with natural imperfections
- Hand-applied Swarovski crystals
- Electro-plating keeps all natural cranial sutures visible
- Weighs 1 pound
- Created in Venice, CA by KIDZAG
- Dimensions: 4W x 8D x 4H inches
- Final Sale item - not eligible for return
from theFoundary.com website
KIDZAG - Brand Story:
Growing up in rural Wisconsin, resources were limited, thus KIDZAG's young creative nature required her to use her environment as her canvas and her medium. She and her brother went so far as to exhibit some of the found treasures in a family playhouse, charging a nickel for admission. Her childhood in the country create the milieu that transpires to her current art work.
Growing up in rural Wisconsin, resources were limited, thus KIDZAG's young creative nature required her to use her environment as her canvas and her medium. She and her brother went so far as to exhibit some of the found treasures in a family playhouse, charging a nickel for admission. Her childhood in the country create the milieu that transpires to her current art work.
These (and more!) are on sale (prices reduced!) at theFoundary.com. This is not an endorsement of the products themselves, Kidzag or theFoundary.com but to be fair, if you want 'em, that's where you can get 'em.
*Yes, Intrepid Reader, an entrepreneurial tip just for you: buy a glue gun and a bunch o' crystals; go find those elk sheds you've been meaning to turn into a lamp; make the danged lamp already!; bedazzle it; price it around $1200; repeat with any other appropriate bones, skulls, antlers, hoofs, or horns you might have lying about; set up an etsy account and watch the money roll in.
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