I hate to say it, but I think I jinxed myself by saying the weather was improving! This week was slower than last due to a few days of poor weather, but thankfully there were a few good days for owls 🙂
This week, despite having less consistent birds than last, kept me busy. I spent a good amount of time this week mending holes in nets from flying squirrels chewing through them, spots where sticks got wrapped up, and worst of all – where a deer ran straight through the net after I accidentally spooked it! I wish I could have gotten a video of it happening because what a thing to witness! Mending that hole definitely took some time and patience, and resigning to the fact that it’s gonna look a little funky now!
In owl news, I have reached a total of 43 owls for the season. A new foreign recapture was recorded this week and I’m excitedly waiting to hear where she was originally banded since she was an older bird. This week most of the birds banded were Second Year birds, compared to last where I noticed more variation in ages.
If you look closely at the wing near the “arm pit”, you may be able to see a faint amount of pink on the feathers. Looking at this coloration and the pattern on the feathers under a black light is how the owls are aged.
My favorite thing to happen this week though, was banding the first male NWSO of the season! I knew that the males are noticeably smaller than the females, but WOW was he little! He only weighed 80 grams compared to the females that usually weigh between 94-98 grams. He was such a sweet bird too! I think I could have just set him in the palm of my hand and he would have been happy to stay.
The first male NWSO of the season!
Hopefully I don’t jinx myself AGAIN by saying this, but I’m an optimist so I’ll say it anyways. Despite the rainier forecast this week, the temps are quickly improving, things are slowly becoming greener, and every night I hear and see more animals moving around, so I’m incredibly hopeful for even more birds this week (fingers crossed!). And maybe if I’m lucky the first non-NWSO owls of the season too!
See you next week!
Left: A female NWSO watching me closely after her release. Right: A female NWSO who was ready for her photo shoot after release, she posed perfectly for each picture!
