A number of Canada geese were banded recently at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s Fond du Lac campus, helping biologists learn about the birds’ migration patterns and population dynamics.
Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Technician Andrew Bubolz said the banding has been taking place for years at the Fond du Lac campus and at the nearby ponds by Fond du Lac High School.
Many of the birds travel to the southern United States, he said, to places that include Mississippi, Georgia or Alabama. If a banded bird is harvested during waterfowl seasons, the hunter is encouraged to report the information to natural resources authorities—it helps with wildlife conservation and management efforts. The same holds true for anyone who finds a banded bird that is injured or dead.
Bubolz said the collected data can be used to help estimate harvest rates and bird survival.
Many of Wisconsin’s Canada geese, he noted, fly from Canada through Wisconsin along the Mississippi River flyway.
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