As always, Nova Mackentley and I are excited for the start of the owl banding season. It’s hard to believe, but this is my 20th spring owl banding season at WPBO, and Nova is only a few seasons behind me. We don’t have much to report yet, but after a couple of nights of high winds, the first owls of the season arrived last night.
Under calm conditions, we caught 10 Northern Saw-whet Owls — eight new birds and two previously banded birds. One of the two banded owls was banded here last fall by Eliana Fierro Calderon. We always love texting former field mates/friends with a photo of an owl they banded that has returned to the Point.
The record season for juvenile Saw-whets we experienced last summer has us hopeful that this could be a particularly good spring for Saw-whets. Only time will tell.
The spring’s first Northern Saw-whet Owl recapture, originally banded at WPBO last fall.
2021 Spring Owl Banders
Chris Neri & Nova Mackentley
You can read Chris and Nova’s weekly blog post and follow WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for owl banding highlights this season.
Owl Banding Presentations — We apologize, but live education demonstrations of our owl banding program will not be offered in 2021 due to COVID-related risks and restrictions.
If you visit WPBO, please practice social distancing while doing so. Although not required, we encourage you to wear masks if you are in close proximity to other people, even if outdoors. You may read the full 2021 COVID-19 Updates for Michigan Audubon and Whitefish Point Bird Observatory here.
