The Mississippi River and surrounding areas house the Mississippi Flyway, an internationally important migration route for waterfowl and migratory birds. This feathery highway extends from central Canada to the Gulf, but some birds use this route to travel as far North or South as the Arctic Circle and the Patagonia region. The Audubon Society estimates that around 60% of migratory bird species in North America use this flyway!
Photo: Genoa staff holding geese and volunteers standing next to a flock of geese in a pen. Photo credit: USFWS
Genoa National Fish Hatchery, located in the heart of this flyway, is no stranger to birds. Visitors and staff often see swans, eagles, cormorants, herons, and of course, Canadian Geese.
A couple weeks ago, Genoa National Fish Hatchery partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to band the flock of Canadian Geese that have called the hatchery home for the past few months. Volunteers coordinated on land and water to herd the geese into a pen and worked for a few hours giving them all shiny anklets. These leg bands allow organizations like Wisconsin DNR to monitor population and collect data on migrations and similar data.