Since our last blog post, we have been quite busy in the owl banding world. I had stated in the previous blog that we were hoping the change in weather at the start of this week would bring us some birds, and it definitely did that.

For starters, let’s talk about the Northern Saw-whet Owls. This week saw some of the best saw-whet numbers so far this season. In fact, one night, we caught 41 Northern Saw-whet owls. While this isn’t a record night for fall banding, it is the best Northern Saw-whet Owl night in approximately the past 10 years, which is very exciting. Here are a few photos of the saw-whets we banded during the past week.

We also had our 100th Northern Saw-whet Owl banded for the season. This bird came during a little push of owls, and we almost missed that she was number 100. Luckily we remembered just in time to snap this photo.

The change in weather also brought us a new species for the season. While Barred Owls are not a target species for us at the Point, it is not uncommon to catch a couple during the fall season. This past week brought us a total of three different birds. Barred owls are always such a funny bird to have in the banding lab, and they all have their own personalities when it comes to having their photo taken.

It’s also always interesting to see the size difference between a Barred Owl and a Northern Saw-whet Owl.

Finally, a little non-bird fun: The spring peepers have been calling a lot the past week. These guys are always fun to see when we run into them during our net checks.

Spring peeper amongst some pine branches

In particular, there is a spring peeper who likes to hang out on one of our poles. We have affectionately named it Roger and are always on the lookout for it. The other day, Roger got into a standoff with a spider, as you can see below. During our next net check, Roger was there, but the spider was nowhere to be seen.

Roger in a standoff with the spider above him.

Finally, the northern lights also graced us with their presence. It’s always nice to step outside and enjoy these in-between net checks.

Dana and Tori in front of the northern lights.

Season Totals
Northern Saw-whet Owl: 144
Long-eared Owl: 1
Barred Owl: 3

~ Tori Steely and Dana Reid
2022 Fall Owl Banders

You can read Tori and Dana’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.