Duck Nasal Marker

Have any idea who and where this lesser scaup hen might have been tagged? Photo from in a Richardson city pond today.

Dude that's a bluebill.


JK. That's cool, I never knew there was such a thing. Looks pretty Goth!

So is there a chip to record the migratory pattern?

They tag a lot of the scaup and ringnecks in Bemidji, Minnesota. 'Wetland Wildlife Population and Research Group' have Long term research projects going on with scaup and ringnecks.

That's crazy, we have a place 20 miles from Bemidji and on 30 years have never seen a ringneck up there. They must just raft on the big water on Lake Bemidji or Plantagenet

Bluebill

one bluebill at a time fella's

Prolly gonna reduce the chance of nesting with that junk on her face.

there is someone for everyone, gdogg

What do you guys call pop down here? And up north, junk on the face is the norm, she'll be just fine

Every thing is Coke.

I wonder if that junk whistles in flight.

She could definitely use it to hear advantage on slicing off those fresh water mussels.

What's a pop?

Discovered this hen was tagged on 9/11/15 up in Montana at Red Rocks NWR. USGS was able to make the ID - they're some great folks working there and were quick to respond!
From the USGS:

"...Her nasal marker is a unique combination of colors and shapes
so we can identify her as an individual; we conduct pre-breeding and
post-breeding surveys of marked females on Lower Red Rock Lake to estimate
seasonal survival and factors that influence survival. We completed our
11th year of the study in 2015 and we've learned a fantastic amount of
information on lesser scaup thanks to the hard work of our marked females!

Learn something new everyday! Thank you for sharing