Last Thursday (Oct 10) Rob brought along another cohort of his students from Sault College. Conditions weren’t looking good for owl movement given the blustery southeast winds, so in the meantime we poked around the bush for critters, and enjoyed the fire while gorging on candy. To my surprised delight, a saw-whet appeared at the midnight hour. One banding demonstration later, the owl fled into the night, donning a new band and the name “Licorice”
The following three nights (Oct 11-13) were quite dull. Either my efforts were stymied prematurely due to high winds/heavy rain, or the station was completely shut down. I did have a smidge of owl action on the morning of the 14th once the winds settled, with a single saw-whet. It only takes one owl to boost morale at the station in the face of fickle fall weather.
I was relieved when Monday rolled around for a brief respite from the rain. After a spectacularly warm and gooey sunset with rainbows, the owls were ready to move. We captured and processed 18 owls.
Now it’s back to waiting out the wind and rain.
Until next time,
Maycee
