After the record July for juvenile Norther Saw-whet Owls (NSWO), August has continued to be slow. There was some poor weather conditions this past week, but it is clear that the owls are winding down. We banded 11 juvenile NSWO on August 14, which is the only night in August that we have hit double digits. Since then we have only banded five juvenile NSWO.
After Tim Baerwald left for HawkWatch International at the Manzano Mountains in New Mexico, Tori Steely and Cory Gregory, experienced WPBO owl banders, joined me to complete the season. We also had a visit from Hannah Toutonghi, who banded with me during the 2019 and 2020 summer seasons!
Hannah Toutonghi with a juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl, loving her visit to WPBO.
Season Totals of Banded Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owls: 527
Long-eared Owls: 12
Total Owls: 539
~ Chris Neri, Tim Baerwald, Tori Steely, & Cory Gregory
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.
