After a period of about a week and a half of productive nights, the recent weather pattern significantly slowed things down this past week. Even during a few windows of more favorable weather conditions, the overall pattern kept the owl migration from kicking back in. This most productive night this past week was April 21, when we banded 20 owls and caught one previously banded Northern Saw-whet Owl. Last night we recaptured the first previously banded owl of this spring that was not a saw-whet — a Barred Owl that we banded on May 12, 2022, during its first spring. Although Barred Owls are mostly sedentary, there is some movement between seasons for some individuals. While we do not have resident Barred Owls at the Point, it is not too uncommon for us to recapture a barred that has been banded at WPBO during a previous season as it does some limited moving around between seasons.
A recaptured Barred Owl that was previously banded at WPBO on May 12, 2022. Photo by Chris Neri
Season Totals to Date of Banded Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 419
Long-eared Owls: 82
Boreal Owls: 2
Barred Owls: 6
Total owls banded: 509
Season Totals to Date of Recaptured Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 35
Barred Owl: 1
~ Chris Neri & Nova Mackentley
2023 Spring Owl Banders
You can read Chris and Nova’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.
