Last night, we completed our first full night of owl banding for the season! Our nets were in operation from about 8pm to 8am. The night started out with some mild winds and temperatures in the mid 30’s. Clouds began to roll in, bringing cooler temperatures from the north. By the end of the night, the sky was clear and there was very little wind.
We banded 3 Northern Saw-whet Owls. Two were captured on our first net run of the evening, and the third around 3:20am. All of the birds were females and at least in their second year.
Earlier in the day, Kim spotted a Snowy Owl at the state park. We also enjoyed hearing a Woodcock calling as we were doing our net runs.
The snowy weather over the next couple of days will likely limit the amount of time we can spend banding. We will be watching the weather closely and get out there whenever we can!