MIDDLE RIVER, Minn. -- Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge will host its annual duck banding event at 5 p.m. Sept. 18.
Participants should meet at refuge headquarters, and people who plan to handle birds should wear old clothing or even rain gear, since banding is a "hands-on" experience that can be a little messy. Handling birds is not required, and those who would rather watch can just bring their cameras to capture the experience.
In case of rain or ground conditions that are too wet, the alternate date is 5:30 p.m. Sept. 21. No pre-registration is required, and the event is free to the public.
All participants will be required to wear provided disposable gloves and eye protection. This is a precautionary action because of the possibility of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) showing up in North America.
Duck banding opportunities again should be good on the refuge, with an increase in the number of breeding duck pairs observed this past spring. The annual May survey indicated 6,233 breeding duck pairs at Agassiz, a 66 percent increase from 2009. The increase likely resulted from the exceptionally wet conditions throughout the region, which provided a high abundance of habitat in 2010.
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The refuge duck brood survey tallied an estimated 16,466 ducklings this year, compared with the long-term average production of 13,586 ducklings.
Agassiz NWR is located 11 miles east of Holt, Minn., on Marshall County Road 11.
For more information on duck banding or other refuge activities, contact Agassiz at (218) 449-4115 ext. 211.
