eer Ugbaly Rt OsN SB -Usi Erie N. 13 
WHAT'S A “WING-BEE’? 
Well, Somebody Has to Count All Those 
Duck Feathers, Don't You Know? 
Each year, shortly before the ducks begin to move north to their summer 
nesting areas, game biologists get together and hold their annual “wing- 
bee.” These biologists are representatives from the 14 states which make 
up the Mississippi Flyway, along with representatives from the U. S. 
Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wildlife. 
What is a “wing-bee’’? Each year waterfowl hunters in different locales 
are given envelopes which are provided by the federal authorities. Hunters 
who bag ducks or geese are instructed to send in the duck’s wing or the 
tail feathers from the geese. These hunters are selected at random from 
all over the United States. The envelopes are then sent to the site of the 
flyway’s “wing-bee.” This year’s Mississippi Flyway “bee” was held in 
Poynette, Wis., at the State Game and Conservation Center. 
The wings are separated from the tail feathers, and the sorting of dif- 
ferent species begins. Mallard wings are separated by state because there 
are so many of them. The other species of ducks, however, are all lumped 
into one group. 
The wings are then checked to determine the age and sex of the duck 
and counted to establish an approximate harvest figure of each species. 
Ill. Dep’t of Conservation biologists Gary Senn and Dave Harper 
age and sex duck wings at the recent “wing-bee” in Wisconsin. 
