The wing survey started as an analysis of the woodcock back in 1970. From the beginning of the 1980s, the survey was extended to also include ducks and wading birds, and later geese and gulls were also included. Ever since, the wing survey has been an important part of the Danish hunting bag statistics, in which the yield of most dabbling duck and diving duck species is calculated based on the number distribution of the submitted wings. These species are all grouped in the Danish hunting bag statistics.
The wings contribute to calculating the hunting bag in Denmark. In addition, the wings give detailed knowledge of the geographical and temporal prevalence and knowledge of the annual breeding success.
Aarhus University’s Wing surveys are based on volunteers. Since the season 1982/83, more than 2,000 hunters have submitted more than 282,000 wings. The best season till date was 2004/05 in which a total of 21,217 wings were collected. For each 1,000 wings submitted, participants can win a hunting knife in a lottery each month.
The results of the wing surveys are published on this page and disseminated in relevant journals. Previous reports can be seen here.