Ep. 105 California Duck Banding: Klamath Night Lighting, Pintail Nets & Why Reporting Matters

Jeff sits down with Brian Huber and Jason Coslovich to unpack this summer’s banding push and preseason pintail work—what changed with more water on the landscape, how night-lighting in the Klamath Basin actually happens, and why your band reports keep California’s harvest models honest.

What’s inside

• Sac Valley bounce-back: swim-in traps, summer water, and a strong run of molting mallards and wood ducks.
• Klamath after dark: airboats, spotlights, big crates—plus what red-painted bands mean and how crews avoid re-capturing fresh birds.
• Transmitters 101: what they reveal about nesting and molt, the tradeoffs for different species, and why units keep upgrading the tech.
• Preseason pintail nets: how state/CWA crews coordinate shots, handle big mixed flocks, and keep mortality low.
• Oddballs & highlights: redheads and ruddy ducks in force, shorebirds with tiny tags, and a handful of long-lived recaptures.
• Do your part: how to return a transmitter, why reporting every band matters, and how those data feed adaptive harvest decisions.
• Get involved: Aleutian trapping help, the Colusa Dinner, college camps, and the Rice Levee nesting program (with grower payments).

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