The expected transition from banding adult to juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owls (NSWO) has recently begun. Adult NSWO numbers are highest during the first two weeks of July. Their numbers then typically remain steadily in low single-digit numbers into the beginning of August. Juvenile NSWO numbers vary significantly from year to year, but relative to a given season, they start slow and their numbers build in mid-July as the adult numbers drop off. That trend has begun in recent nights. Scattered showers gave us our second night of the season off tonight, but in the previous six nights we banded 36 juvenile and 16 adult NSWO. This brings the season total to 144 owls banded to date: 141 NSWO (50 juveniles and 91 adults) and three Long-eared Owls.
One of this week’s juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owls.
Here are a couple of this week’s moth sightings. One is included here for its beauty, the other for its beauty and a name that could appear in an owl bander’s nightmares.
Small-eyed sphinx moth.
Night-wandering dagger.
-Chris Neri & Cory Gregory
2022 WPBO Summer Owl Banders
You can read Chris and Cory’s weekly blog posts and follow WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for owl banding highlights this season.
Owl Banding Presentations — Visitors may observe owls that have been banded on Friday and Saturday evenings from dusk until midnight. Please note that banding is weather dependent and it is at the banders’ discretion to cancel banding accordingly. Observation will be limited to outdoors only and we encourage participants to wear masks and continue to practice social distancing whenever possible. For the safety of the owls, flash photography and recording video is prohibited.
