Owl crew here with a week four update! Our capture totals are currently 313 Northern saw-whet owls, 8 Barred owls, and 4 Long-eared owls. In today’s blog lets delve into the species we are focused on here at the owl banding shack, the Northen saw-whet owl.
The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a strictly nocturnal, small owl that is native to North America. They are about 17-22 cm long with a wingspan of 42-56 cm. Adult saw-whets are mottled brown and white with a distinct white v on their face and white speckling on their foreheads. Recently fledged saw-whets have a dark head (still bearing that white v) and a cinnamon colored breast. They nest in tree cavities, and usually have a clutch of 5-6 eggs. The female will do all of the incubation and brooding for 27-29 days, and the males will do the hunting. When the youngest nestling is about 18 days old, the female will leave and roost elsewhere. The male, sometimes accompanied by the older children, will feed the young nestlings. Saw-whets mainly prey on deer mice, and will eat them in two meals.
Pictured: young saw-whet with a retained juvenile cinnamon belly and some darker retained head feathers.
Saw-whets migrate at night like lots of other species of birds (songbirds, shorebirds, etc). By mist-netting migrating saw-whets we can put a little metal band on them that gives them their own little social security number. This number identifies each individual bird and is entered into a massive database. If any bird that was banded is caught again we will know about. This is a great way to track saw-whet owl migration, and keep an eye on their population. Saw-whet owls are very difficult to detect during the day making it hard to survey their populations, but trapping them during migration gives us a look at how well they are doing generally.
Tune in next week to learn about some owl adaptations!
