re: Mississippi Flyway Databook - HIP Results

how many of you have ever done the wing surveys? It's my appreciation that most of the species specific data comes from these. I've actually been drawn multiple times in the last 10 years- if memory serves me, you can do it for a maximum of 3 consecutive years, and then take a year off. USFW sends you a packet of envelopes at the beginning of the year with instructions, and you mail one wing from each bird you kill throughout the season. At the end of the year, I get a letter logging each bird, and it i.d.'s whether it was an adult or juvenile as well, by species and date.

The interesting thing is that out of my friends and family that hunt quite a bit, no one else has done this, and most have thrown away the letter requesting participation when received. Sure its somewhat of a pain, but I think its the best way to get actual data.