ILLINOISDEPARTMENTOF NATURAL RESOURCES

J.B. Pritzker,
Governor|illinois.gov

The Science and Art of Banding Wood Ducks

by Kathy Andrews Wright |  August 1, 2023 |  Research, Wildlife
A male Wood Duck floats atop water, beak open as if mid squwak.

Photo by Kevin Wright.

The annual wood duck banding program in Illinois provides waterfowl biologists and land managers with valuable information on migration and survival rates.

Banding of migratory birds in the United States and Canada has been overseen by federal governments since 1920. In Illinois, wood duck banding occurs throughout the state in about 15 different counties each year. Banding sites vary from marsh habitats in northeastern Illinois to wetlands in southern Illinois. Today, approximately 1,500 to 2,500 wood ducks are banded annually in Illinois.

In this two-part video, Dan Holm, retired Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife Resources Waterfowl Program manager, provides an overview of the process for trapping and banding wood ducks, the history of wood duck banding in Illinois, and where the birds hatched in Illinois end up after migration.

Part 1 Process of Trapping and Banding Wood Ducks

Part 2: The Historical Perspective of Wood Duck Banding

Kathy Andrews Wright retired from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources where she was editor of OutdoorIllinois magazine. She is currently the editor of OutdoorIllinois Journal.

Share this Article

Submit a question for the author

Please complete the verification below to submit your question:

Explore Our Family of Websites

A link the CICADA web site.
A link the Hunt Illinois web site.
A link the Outdoor Illinois Journal web site.
A link to request a nuisance animal removal permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
A link the Wildlife Illinois web site with advertisements for its four sections: Help, Sightings, Wildlife Identification, and Prevent Problems.

Similar Reads

Birds, Hunting, Research
A adult male white-tailed deer with large antlers illuminated by a spotlight in a field at night.
A reddish young adult male white tailed deer with small antlers stands on the edge of a grassland.

CWD Management Program Changing

August 3, 2026 by Kathy Andrews Wright

A male and female summer tanager sit on a bird feeder.
A hunter holds a crossbow up in preparation for aiming while sitting in a tree-stand. In the background is a grassy field. Trees with autumn foliage border the field in the distance.
A close-up of a black and white duck swimming on a body of water.

2026-2027 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest

August 3, 2026 by Kaleigh Gabriel

A brown and white hawk is resting in brown pine needles. Green temporary paint is applied to the hawk's breast to help researchers identify the bird.

The Summer of the Ospreys—Part 2

August 3, 2026 by Carla Rich Montez

A wooden shed installed on a platform held above a wetland by wooden posts. In the background is a woodland. A patch of waterlilies are floating on the wetland in the foreground.

The Summer of the Ospreys—Part 1

August 3, 2026 by Carla Rich Montez

A brown and white hawk with a yellow eye flies with a successfully caught fish in its talons. A blue sky is overhead.

Fishing the Osprey Way

August 3, 2026 by Carla Rich Montez

During a summer day under a bright blue sky a row of tables are lined up in front of a partially roofed long metal pavilion. People stand on either side of the tables and engage in conversation. Various items and hunting gear rest on the tables and on the shelves behind the tables.

Make this Offseason Count

August 3, 2026 by Dan Stephens

A woman stands in a snowy parking lot. She holds a reddish-brown and tan striped red-shouldered hawk in her hands. IN the background is a church entrance on the corner of two intersecting roads.

Aerial Predators of the Prairie State

August 3, 2026 by Emily Jones