We appear to be in repeat mode regarding the timing of weekly weather patterns and their effect on the owl migration between our posts. Once again, this past week started with a few productive nights before unsettled weather rolled in mid-week to slow down the owl migration. The saw-whet migration was a bit disappointing this week, but we cannot say the same for the long-eareds. Just after writing our last post, we had the biggest push of Long-eared Owls (LEOW) we have ever experienced.
Over the course of three nights, we banded an incredible 107 LEOW. This included a night of 59 LEOW on April 22, which set a new record for WPBO and very likely for North America. We also banded 20 saw-whets on April 22, for a total of 79 owls banded that night. High winds and rain kept the nets closed on April 24, providing us with a much-needed night of rest. Although the weather has improved in recent nights, the owls have been kind of slow, especially the saw-whets. Except for the night of April 22, nightly saw-whet numbers did not reach double digits this past week. Typically, we see a good number of the previous year’s young at this time of the season. Given that we banded a record 624 juvenile saw-whets last summer, we were hoping for steadier numbers of last year’s young this week. Hopefully, it is weather-related, and they will pick up again when conditions improve.
We also recaptured a LEOW this week that was banded here in a previous season. Was it one of the 289 we banded last spring, or one of the over 300 we banded in spring 2016, or one of the over 400 in spring 2017? No, it was one of 16 banded in fall 2016; she is pictured in the banner above. These birds continue to baffle us. As owl lovers, it was amazing to see the push of LEOW we experienced last weekend. As owl banders, we are just glad to have made it through relatively unscathed.
Looking back at least week’s blog, I noticed that I screwed up the LEOW numbers. I had posted 25 more LEOW than we had banded. I doubt anyone pays enough attention to compare weekly numbers, but just in case, I figured I’d acknowledge my mistake. To date, we have banded just over 800 owls; 511 saw-whets, seven boreals, 286 long-eareds, and two barreds. We have also recaptured 41 previously banded saw-whets and two banded long-eareds.
2021 WPBO 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.
