Building a citizen science network among UK waterfowl hunters

Duck and goose wings can provide invaluable information on the age and sex ratios in duck and goose harvests. This in turn can be used to provide trends on breeding success. Currently only a small number of countries in Europe... [ view full abstract ]

Duck and goose wings can provide invaluable information on the age and sex ratios in duck and goose harvests. This in turn can be used to provide trends on breeding success. Currently only a small number of countries in Europe conduct  wing surveys, and until 2002 there was a successful and long running scheme in the UK. Hunters play a central role in the success of these studies. During the 2017/18 season BASC encouraged hunting and shooting clubs to collect duck and goose wings once again. Wings were collected at the annual BASC Wildfowling Conference aged, and sexed, and photographed. Photographs of wings aged and sexed in the hand were distributed to a small group of experts and the results of aging and sexing by photo, and in the hand were compared. The suitability of using digital techniques for parts collection surveys will be discussed, and the prospects for increasing engagement through such methods will be reviewed. This study provides an example of how hunters, as citizen scientists, help in the conservation and sustainability of wildfowl populations.