When you’re working with migratory birds at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in mid-March, your efforts are naturally going to produce results that vary significantly from year to year. We experienced a relatively mild winter this year, and our early season efforts are paying off. Northern Saw-whet Owls have continued to come through in steady numbers, and Long-eared Owls have just arrived. The arrival date of Long-eared Owls in the spring is highly variable. Some years they don’t arrive until late April, so we’re delighted that they have already arrived this spring. To date, we have banded 121 saw-whets and 14 long-eareds. We have also caught nine previously banded saw-whets. In addition to the banding, shoveling has kept us busy this last week.
Running the spring owl banding in the Lake Superior snowbelt is often quite labor-intensive. At some point every spring, the snow conditions hit a critical mass that greatly reduces our ability to get around the net lanes effectively. We refer to it as hell week because we know we will be spending hours of each night for a week or more shoveling out about half a mile of trails. It is also the time that the snowshoeing is the hardest. The highest snowdrift is in the same location every year, and it is always the last stretch of the trail to be cleared. Although snow levels were down this year, that drift was still around four feet deep when we started. On Tuesday night, we celebrated with a big hug in the middle of that stretch as we met in the middle after shoveling our way through it from opposite ends. It made me think of the golden spike used when the railroad system was connected from the east and west. Our bodies are paying for it right now, but we’re thrilled that the worst of it is behind us and that we are effectively going to be able to walk the trails this early in the season. In the worst years, we have still needed snowshoes into mid-May, which is no fun.
The season’s first Long-eared Owl.
Nova with a big smile after we shoveled out the deepest stretch of the net lanes.
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.
