Movement and mortality of Wood Ducks banded in Victoria

Abstract

Results of banding 1,533 Wood Ducks, almost all in Victoria, are discussed. Dispersal from the main banding locality (Serendip, near Geelong) was generally northwards into the plains of inland Victoria and southern New South Wales; similar results were obtained from other banding localities. Movement was restricted, about 60 per cent of recoveries being within 200 km of the banding site Shooting provided most recoveries, and estimates of mortality, based on return of bands from shot birds, indicate that some 57 per cent of birds die within one year of banding. Results of X-ray studies show that adult males are more prone to shooting than other age or sex-groups, but shooting of the species is not so severe in Victoria as elsewhere. The species will probably remain secure while habitat remains in its present state.