Owl Update 3/29/2023

This past week produced the first little push of Northern Saw-whet Owls (NSWO), spectacular northern lights, an unpredicted snowstorm, and the season’s first Long-eared Owls (LEOW).

On Thursday night, we were treated to some of the best northern lights we have ever seen here. It was impossible to capture in photos, but when they peaked, they were pulsing up from the horizon from every direction to a spot high in the sky above us. We’ve been treated to seeing a lot of northern lights here over the years, but none better than these. Then, as we went to bed Saturday morning, the forecast called for two inches of snow. When we woke up in the evening, a foot of snow was on our deck, with much deeper drifts on our road. This took us — and our plow guy — by surprise. Thankfully, we live within walking distance to the Point and could walk up and take care of the audiolures so their batteries wouldn’t overheat and get ruined. It’s pretty uncommon for people here to get caught out by a foot of snow, but many people were this time. I don’t think the road commission’s snowplow driver knew what to think when he saw us walking up the road with our headlamps on in the middle of the night.

Some of Thursday night’s northern lights. Photo by Chris Neri

As for the owls, things remained pretty much the same, with a slow, steady trickle of NSWO through most of the week. Then Monday night, the first two LEOW of the season arrived. Long-eareds have arrived in March a few times in previous years, but it is more typical for them to come around the second week of April. Despite the fact that we know LEOW will inevitably test our skills and inflict some serious pain on us with their talons throughout the season, their arrival is something we celebrate each and every spring. To us, there is simply no bird species that represents the magic of spring migration at WPBO more than Long-eared Owls.

Last night, we had our first little push of NSWO as we banded 27 and caught three previously-banded owls. We previously banded two of the recaptured birds here in spring 2021. Interestingly, we originally banded them within three hours of each other on April 2, 2021, and then recaptured them within three hours of each other last night! For anyone wondering if they might be a breeding pair migrating together (it is a natural thought), they do not migrate as pairs or family groups; they were also both females. One of them is pictured below.

One of the two saw-whets that we originally banded within three hours of each other on April 2, 2021, then recaptured within three hours of each other on March 28, 2023. Photo by Chris Neri

Season Totals to Date of Banded Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 76
Long-eared Owls: 2
Total owls banded: 78

Season Totals to Date of Recaptured Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 5
Total recaptures: 5

~ Chris Neri & Nova Mackentley
2023 Spring Owl Banders