Owl Update 4/22

Things have been going pretty well recently. As we mentioned in our first post, the first 11 nights in April were pretty brutal due to the return of winter conditions and we banded just two owls during that span. The weather conditions finally improved on April 12 and we had very a nice run of nine consecutive nights of good owl migration, especially for Long-eared Owls. During the course of those nine nights we banded 65 Northern Saw-whet Owls and 114 Long-eared Owls, bringing the season total to 165 Saw-whets and 149 Long-eared Owls. Although the Saw-whet numbers are again low this spring, the 149 Long-eareds banded so far is already the highest total since 1999, and third highest total ever banded at WPBO. We’re even more excited about the fact that, in addition to the 114 Long-eareds banded during this push, we caught two that were banded at Hilliardton Marsh in Ontario last fall.

Banding exchanges of migrant Long-eared Owls between banding stations is very rare. The spring Long-eared Owl migration here is certainly one of things that makes Whitefish Point so special. We have been fortunate enough to band almost 1,200 Long-eareds during our seasons at the Point. We have recaptured a handful of birds that were banded at the Point during previous years, but not a single one had been banded at another station. Furthermore, only one of the 1,100+ Long-eareds we have banded here has been recaptured by another banding station. Amazingly, it was one that I banded here in the spring of 1999 and was then recaptured five years later by Nova at Hawk Ridge in Duluth, MN. It is possible, if not probable, that the peak of this spring’s Long-eared migration has just passed, but hopefully there are a few more good nights to come. If we are really, really lucky, maybe another one from Hilliardton Marsh will come through

In addition to the owls, there are always some additional sightings and experiences for owl banders out in the woods at night. A first for us this season has been the regular occurrence of Snowshoe Hares in the net lanes this spring. Every season there are moments when you are out in the woods in the middle of the night and there is suddenly a noise, or you see something out of the corner of your eye that just stops you in your tracks as you wait to see what is out there with you. Two nights ago we were walking back after opening the nets when we were suddenly stopped short because something was making a lot of noise in the brush much closer to us than we liked. As I was hiding behind Nova, I mean protecting Nova, a beaver came waddling out of the brush. You never know what unexpected experience the Point has in store for you.