As they often do, the owls have kept us guessing this spring. March, typically the most unpredictable part of the season, was relatively productive for Northern Saw-whet Owls (NSWO). Then NSWO migration peaked a bit earlier than usual during the second week of April when we also had our first push of Long-eared Owls (LEOW). After that, the weather turned to slop for an extended period. LEOW and NSWO effectively only occurred in single-digit numbers nightly, occasionally getting into the low double digits. We’re now getting into a short, often slow period in the spring migration. The peak of NSWO typically drops off in mid-May only to pick up again in late May, producing a secondary peak that doesn’t reach the numbers of the first.

This is also a time when the reproductive success of LEOW during the previous breeding season significantly impacts the number of LEOW we are banding. The early LEOW migration is dominated by adults who are experienced enough to know they need to get north as soon as possible to get the most productive breeding territories. As the LEOW migration period progresses, we start to see an increase in the number of the previous year’s young mixing in with the adults until the young dominate the late period of their spring migration. In just the last two nights, the young LEOW, who arrived late and whose numbers are particularly low so far, finally outnumbered the adults. That said, we have already banded 143 LEOW this season, which we believe is only exceeded by two other banding sites in North America. We also recaptured two LEOW previously banded in the spring at WPBO, one from 2019 (which the data shows will be at least seven years old this summer) and one from 2022.

This recaptured Long-eared Owl was initially banded at WPBO in the spring of 2019. She will be at least seven years old this summer. Photo by Chris Neri

Season Totals to Date of Banded Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 506
Long-eared Owls: 143
Boreal Owls: 2
Barred Owls: 16
Total owls banded: 667

Season Totals to Date of Recaptured Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 40
Barred Owls: 2
Long-eared Owls: 2

~ 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.