Banding Ducks at Agassiz

On Saturday, I went to Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge to help with their annual, open to the public duck banding. The refuge is on flat terrain and is mostly wetlands because it lies on the bed of glacial Lake Agassiz (named after Louis Agassiz: the original glaciologist).

Banding programs for waterfowl help scientists and managers make decisions on hunting regulations and estimate survival rates, migration routes and other biological information. Because of the wet conditions in the region, there was an above average number of ducklings hatched this year. Agassiz is one of Minnesota’s Important Bird Areas with 294 species of birds.

 

Overlook at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge- very flat

 

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Tigon or Tigalo?

I had to make a stop in Fargo, ND the other day and thought I’d check out the Red River Zoo. Unfortunately, it was a weekday and they are only open on weekends now that it’s after Labor Day.

While I didn’t get to go in the zoo, I did get to check out this interesting statue outside. I think it’s a cross between a Tiger and a Bison. Though I haven’t seen that many tiger x bison crosses, it also looks like it has a tumor on its leg. I didn’t see a sign or anything explaining the statue, so I’ll have to go check it out again some day.

I did go duck banding on Saturday. I plan to post my pictures and rundown of the event by tomorrow. Here’s a preview picture of a sweet little female mallard I got to band.

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