Way Old Atlantic Brant

[Goosehunter]

Back in late January my friend Max came down to Coastal NJ for a Waterfowl Hunt. Not much was flying first thing in the morning, when outta no where here comes an Atlantic Brant heading right for the decoys. Max pops up from the boat blind and one shot was fired with the Brant folding up like a wet blanket.
As Miss Annie was bringing the Brant back to the boat we noticed an old leg band hanging on the the Brant's foot. Now Max was cause he had never shot a banded Brant before but as we looked closer at the band we realized it was so old the numbers needed to report the band were completely worn off.



But, you can send the leg band back to the Feds  and they do an acid etching process to the band and it hopefully will make the numbers legible. Course Max was a little reluctant to send his prize away but I assured him the band will be returned. About early March the band was sent in, then the China Flu hit and the folks that do the etching process weren't working.
Couple days ago Max finally got the info back on the Brant, this Brant was an Adult when banded in 2005 which means it was born on or before 2004! Doing the math this Brant was At Least 15 years and 7 months old.
If you're into miles these darn Brant fly every year to the Arctic Circle, check how far away Nunavut Canada is from South Jersey. Over 2,000 miles one way!
The Feds send out this Certificate to everyone who reports a leg band.



And Max enjoying the moment.

[Goosehunter]

link

[arnold]

That a cool story. Did they send the band back with the info they learned from it?

[Goosehunter]

So far he hasn't received the band back but it'll take a few days via snail mail and they always return the band. The Certificate gets emailed to you.

[Dutch]

That was a tough old bird, I bet.

[davet]

Waterfowl hunters.......a different breed.

[Goosehunter]

Here's the story Max wrote about the hunt.

[ridgecommander]

Thats awesome. I am always amazed by animal migrations. Especially the long ones like Brant. Thanks for sharing.

[fleroo]

I started hunting fowl in the late 70's, but never any coastal type fowl. Haven't hunted fowl in 20+ years. But, if that bird came flying at me, I would think some farmers chicken is taking a stroll in fight away from the barnyard. I'd be too puzzled to shoot.

The age of that bird certainly is incredible, knowing how many things would enjoy eating it over the course of 16 years ?