Not much has been going on at the station this week. The weather hasn’t been cooperative; the owls apparently aren’t big fans of all the wind, rain, and extra high humidity, and I can’t blame them!
On the morning of the 25th, I walked out of the station to check the nearby nets, and found a barred owl waddling around the set. When it noticed me, it took a fright and flopped into the net. I rushed over and grabbed it before it could shrug out of its predicament. Anyway, one band and a few measurements later, the barred owl was on its way. Hopefully it won’t be snooping around anyone’s saw-whet owl net arrays again!
Last Sunday (Oct 20), a saw-whet owl wearing an old band came to visit. The band number, 1104-43093 was familiar to me so I did a bit of sleuthing in the database from last fall. To my immense delight, this bird was actually the second saw-whet owl I banded. She had first arrived at the station on September 22 as a hatchyear bird. Now she is considered a secondyear bird, taking on the second southbound migration of her life. It is a very special experience for a bander to meet with a bird they previously banded. Of course when I release these young-of-the-year birds I wish them well and hope to see them again. The world is fraught with dangers for these small owls, and young birds learn through experiences they may not survive. 1104-43093 survived and even put on weight. I hope I or another bander will meet her again.
Until next time,
Maycee
