Ontario - Canada - Mark DesRoches
This is probably my most special band of them all. I collected this bird in November of 2006 on an awesome flooded corn field shoot.
There were lots of greenheads using a puddle in the field and some Canada geese as well. We were able to shoot a four man limit of mallards and some bonus geese.
It was one of those days when the waterfowl gods were shining on us.
During the hunt, my dog Blue returned to me with a drake that I had shot off my side of a flock. And low and behold it was carrying a 2000 Jack Miner band!
The writing on the band was quite worn down, but the number was still readable. I was very excited about this band, but kept things quiet until the end of the hunt.
Later I went with Blue to retrieve a long sailer and had two geese work over me while I was in the hedge. They were a good shot for me, but they had set up for the decoys so I let them carry on to the rig where the guys shot them both. One of them was also banded with a Federal band. It was only the second or third band for the guy who shot him! What a day...
I contacted Kirk Miner about my band and he informed me that the bird had been banded by him on September 25, 2000, and was part of a record catch of 763 ducks that they banded that day. He also informed me that this band was one of the most easterly reports he had received in several years. I am located about 300 miles northeast of the Miner site.
I was lucky enough to visit the site that December and have continued to support the Foundation ever since. If you are interested in visiting the site go to www.jackminer.com. Some great history of banding can be found there.
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