Speaking of the old bands, a buddy's dad has a band from the second oldest sandhill crane on record. Numbers were illegible and had to be raised with a chemical process. I believe they told him the bird was 48 yrs old.
Okay, before anyone cries B.S. about the 48 yr. old crane, I inquired again about him and he was over 23 years old. Glad I could correct myself instead of someone else.