I suspected that Saturday night would bring a big push, as conditions were optimized for migration relative to these past warm and windy nights; at last, a night with temperatures dropping into the crisp 40’s and a gentle wind blowing from the north.
Instead, the most productive night of the season occurred on Wednesday, the 25th, with three owls. Since then, it’s been just a wee smattering of an owl or two each night, bringing our current total to eight owls.
Apparently, it’s been rather slow for other stations in the great lakes region. I wonder if the saw-whets are biding their time at a stop-over site somewhere, fueling up on prey items. Or have they hardly budged from their breeding grounds?
Monitoring movement trends over time is why dedicated biologists run banding stations. I look forward to learning more as fall migration unfolds.
Until next time,
Maycee
