Welcome back raptor enthusiasts to another update for the spring owl banding blog!
The saw-whet migration is definitely coming to an end. Our recent nights of banding have been relatively slow, but we’ve continued to have pleasant weather most nights.
May 6th – 2 saw-whets
May 7th – 1 saw-whet. We also had some guests visit the banding station which I will get to later.
May 8th – 3 saw-whets, 1 barred owl
May 9th – no owls. We had to delay opening until midnight due to rain in the area.
May 10th – 1 saw-whet
May 11th – 2 saw-whets
As you can see from our totals we are on the tail end of the saw-whet owl spring migration. We did catch another barred owl on May 8th, a second year (SY) male. We have also surpassed last spring’s total of 175 saw-whets. This spring’s total is currently at 178.
On the night of May 7th we had a group of MSRW committee members and friends come out to the banding station to join us for a night of owl banding. We had great weather, clear skies, no wind and relatively warm temperatures (in the 40’s). Luckily on our second net check we caught a saw-whet (our only one of the night) for all to see up close. We demonstrated our banding procedures and released it to continue on its migration. Thanks to all those who came out, we certainly enjoyed having some guests for part of the night!
Thanks for checking in and be sure to come back for more updates!
-Matthew
Totals
Northern saw-whet owls: 178
Barred owls: 2
Long-eared owls: 1
Sharp-shinned hawks: 2
