I have 4 small staock tanks and 1 nice size pond that I shoot ducks off of every year. There is 1 tank that I shoot mostly baldpates. Does anuone know if the same vbirds come back to the same ponds evey year?

Yes

Don't tell my lease mates but I think maybe hunting 8 days in a row in 2012 killed our 2013 hunts for this reason

what killed it this year?

and it wasnt 8 days in a row, it was 8 out of 9 days

I don't think they do but I'd like to see the data off the birds with the transmitter in their back!

Maybe.

Their ducks, not rocket scientist

I know some at least come back to the exact same area every year. My friend shot 2 banded green wings in a week that were banded on a refuge next door to where he was hunting. This was in southeast texas and should go without saying but they definitely were not local birds

Happy hour post? I sure hope they do! We are pouring the cracked corn to them right now. 1 ac. tank holding 90+ birds right now( pins,wids,and greys in that order).

What does that prove? I believe that there are a lot of birds "residentials" that never leave the general area. Teal love the warm weather like in south Texas. Hell I've seen teal while bass fishing in June and July here in north texas. What about all the Mallards and Canada's killed up north. I saw some pics this year from hunts where they killed 7 or 8 bands in a single hunt, and only miles away from the banding location. If it was consistent bands killed each year from the exact same banding location 1000s of miles away that's one thing, but what data do you get from a bird banded right next to the banding location. The bird didn't get to prove anything as far as migration patterns go. I guess im just narrow minded and maybe alittle from duck withdrawals, but I don't think they take the exact same path every year. Flyways maybe but the same exact route and stopping points just seems far fetched. The only thing for sure is they start in the north and end up in the south, that is if all the guys with neck problems from lugging around all that aluminum on their lanyards leave any for us.lol

They might if you miss

Yes you are right, we have a huge resident green wing teal population. I forgot that you hunt and fish year round down here. I should have known that you of all people would know about our resident green wings. Might I add, both birds were banded during the WINTER not SUMMER.

How about this one for you. I shot a mallard in Carnegie, OK that was banded at a refuge in North Dakota. (Ill have to find the certificate to tell you the exact name). Anyway, the day I shot it, a friend of mine was hunting around the same area and he asked where it was banded. I told him North Dakota and before I could get the name of the refuge out he said not only the name of the refuge but the name of the bander! He has 3 bands from the same bander and from the same refuge, all killed within 10 miles of where I killed that bird. What does that prove?

When I say "exact same area" I obviously don't mean a 1/4 acre pond. I would define exact same area as within a 10 mile radius.

So the ducks left the refuge in the Dakota's and flew Down to the same area...what about the year after? Did you shoot another band from that refuge?

No I did not. The 3 bands my friend killed from that same refuge were over a period of several years. None of them were killed the same year I killed mine.

So my conclusion is that birds were coming from that refuge in North Dakota to the Carnegie, OK area year after year

You should have just sai that to begin with

If you look at the radio tracking studies birds absolutely go back to the same areas. Not only to the same general vicinity but often to the exact same areas.

This changes heavily on species. Birds like eiders, brant will often nest and winter in the same exact area year after year.

I have a friend that shoots 2-3 jack miner bands every yr on his club in AL. The folks at jack miner said that the majority of their bands are recovered every year in an 80 mile area.

Anecdotal story. I watched a group of goldeneyes in a river crossing for five yrs. they were there every time I drove over. I got permission, shot said birds, and in the 6 years following have not seen a single GE there since.

I never see bluebill hunting, but there is one local community pond in north dallas, every year there are consistently about a 100 bluebill that show up all at the same time during hunting season, and they stay in this pond all season and then all leave at same time end of season, like the same day, they are gone! I have always been a believer, at lease with this one pond, they are the same birds, at least 50 to 80%.

Throw some corn out there so that they have a little bit more incentive to come back.

1st thing, I didn't mean to challenge your intelligence on bird numbers in south texas. After all your right I don't have the slightest

clue about the bird numbers besides what im told from DU, and on forums like these. I do know that teal favor a warm climate, and we have

a large population of residential, gadwall, widgeon, teal, and mallards of course, here. 2nd What I was trying to say (and I guess I did

a bad job) was we truly don't know if the birds follow the exact same paths and stop in the same spots without looking at the

transmitters. Having them banded in the winter summer or any season doesn't prove they are migrators when recovered in close proximity. I

agree that the birds probably split a 100 mile wide goal post each year, but that's a lot of stopping to remember each year for a bird

whose brain is the size of a what a pea? (and I really don't know the size of a ducks brain).And to negate my own statement about

consistent birds coming from the same place, that still doesn't prove anything but flyways.Obviously after pulling the trigger you cannot

go back and see if that bird will come back the next year using the same path and stopping points.

Merican, you own a CBR that doesn't need a vest, you'll never get through to John boy

Oh my!! You are just too funny garrett!!!!!!

I've had the same couple of mallards come back to my pond year after year. A few years they even brought some friends. But you guys probably wouldn't count them as I raised them.