It was another productive week of owl banding. We banded 119 owls this week and recaptured three previously banded owls. It is becoming apparent that this will be a low season for adult Northern Saw-whet Owls (NSWO), but juvenile saw-whets continued in good numbers. Of the 119 owls banded since our last update, 89 were juvenile saw-whets. We also banded two more Long-eared Owls this week (LEOW). We saw low numbers of young LEOW this spring, which had us hoping they might pick up a bit this summer. It’s still on the early side for LEOW, so we’re still hoping they pick up this summer.
A juvenile saw-whet starting to molt into its adult plumage.
Season Totals of Banded Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 199
Long-eared Owls: 4
Total Owls: 203
~ Chris Neri & Tim Baerwald
2024 Summer Owl Banders
You can read the owl banders’ weekly blog posts and follow WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X) for owl banding highlights this season.
The summer owl banding season runs from July 1 through August 25.
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. For the safety of the owls, flash photography and recording video is prohibited.
