Banded Mallard

It was unusually cold in South Carolina on Jan. 2. I was hunting on Lake Cunningham in the upstate and the day started at 18 degrees and one inch of snow.
I launched the kayak and paddled up the lake to the marsh, concealed the kayak and took a position some cattails.
Official shooting time was 7:04 and shortly afterwards, two mallards dropped in and I took the drake, but had no shot at the hen. Only one more opportunity was presented when a wood duck passed at a high level. I took a shot, but missed
It was a good outing, but what made it more special was the band on the drake mallard. When I called in the information, a lady told me that the duck was banded in 2003 at Alabama, New York. I didn't even know there was such a place.
When one considers the age of the duck and the exposure to hunting on the Atlantic flyway, it is remarkable that it survived so long.
The banding programs yields a lot of good information about ducks, and gives hunters like me a thrill to find out where they were banded.
That is only the second banded duck that I have killed in many years of hunting and it was very exciting.
Happy hunting.
L. Woodrow Ross