This week I put together duck wing barrels for each hunting check station at the farm. I used four old barrels that we had stored around the farm and built lids for each barrel using various saws. At the top of each lid, I cut a slot where hunters can drop in their duck wings and attached a hinged lid over the slot. Before deploying the wing barrels, 
I created an instruction sheet to inform hunters on how to cut off the wings in a way that allows us to identify species and sex. The use of these wing barrels by hunters will help us gather data on what species of ducks we have at the farm and how many are being harvested. 
Below
are some pictures of wings that have been placed in the barrels so far including American Wigeon, Gadwall, and Redhead.
Wild Life Intern AnMarie Ulery