October 10th has proven to be our most exciting night of the season so far. We finally experienced some species diversity, capturing not only 11 new Saw-whets, but also 1 Barred Owl and 1 Long-eared Owl!
We also received information on one of our foreign recaps (a bird we captured that has already been banded). This particular bird was banded in the fall of 2014 in Point Labarbe. This owl was aged then as an after second year (ASY) female. We aged it as an ASY female as well, meaning that this bird was at least 3 years old in 2014 and is now at least in her 6th year of life! Foreign recaps really help us learn a lot about birds, it is always our hope that our banding birds will eventually be recaptured so that we can continue to collect data on them.
October 11th we opened the nets even though the winds were blowing from the south east which is less than ideal for migration movement. We managed to capture 5 Saw-whets throughout the night. One of these birds was a foreign recap, so stay tuned for a report once we find out where and when it was banded. Overall, the season so far has had good pace and we hope this consistency lasts through the season.
Our season totals are as follows:
NSWO: 163
LEOW: 1
BDOW: 1
Total: 165
