We simply don’t have a lot of news to share this week. The biggest news was that we had our second and third nights off this season. The juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owls have continued most nights, but only in single-digit numbers. This past week, we banded 17 more juvenile saw-whets.
Not to jinx us, but this is the only flying squirrel we have found in the nets this summer. Photo by Chris Neri
I want to thank Tim Baerwald for his hard work this season. He had to head out early to get to his fall job banding for HawkWatch International at the Manzano Mountains in New Mexico. WPBO owl bander Nova Mackentley and I have banded there for a couple of seasons in the past, and I hope he has a great season there this fall. I’m happy to have Tori Steely as my banding partner right now. Tori has done two previous summers with me and was the head owl bander for two fall seasons at WPBO. It’s exciting to have her back, even for a short time.
Although it appears the owls are winding down, it has been a great season, and hopefully, the owls will continue, even if in low numbers.
Season Totals of Banded Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 507
Long-eared Owls: 12
Total Owls: 519
~ Chris Neri, Tim Baerwald & Tori Steely
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.
