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Owl Banding
WPBO will not be conducting Fall Owl Banding in 2011. We were unable to find qualified staff to operate the season. Please join us in 2012 when our banding operation begins again in the Spring.
March 15-May 31
July 1-Aug 25
Sept 15-Oct 31
dusk-dawn nightly
Visit the Owl Banding Blog for updates
Whitefish Point is a phenomenal concentration spot for migrating owls during both spring and fall. Owls observed at the Point include Northern Saw-whet (NSWO), Boreal (BOOW), Long-eared (LEOW), Short-eared (SEOW), Great-Horned (GHOW), Great Gray (GGOW), and Northern Hawk Owl (NHOW). Ongoing owl banding research programs are conducted by the WPBO in spring, summer and fall. The object of this research is to monitor owl populations over time, and to gain a better understanding of how these populations fluctuate and change over the years. This program also gathers valuable data on little known owls such as Boreals and Great Grays.
Spring
The spring owl banding has run annually since 1988, from 1 April to 31 May. Nets are operated every night (weather permitting). Note: As of 2007, the spring owl banding program has implemented audiolure to increase capture rates. This increases sample size and generates a larger database to use in our research efforts. The start date changed to 15 March, since it has been found that owls (specifically Northern Saw-whets) are migrating during this time period.
Fall
The fall owl banding has run annually since 1993, from 15 September to 31 October. The fall program uses 2 audiolure sites; a NSWO caller and a BOOW caller. These calls are broadcast to lure the owls into the nets, thus increasing capture rate and sample size. Additionally, passive nets that are not associated with a lure are used. Nets are operated every night (weather permitting).
Summer (Juvenile Saw-whet Owl Study)
During the summer of 2006, WPBO conducted an exploratory research study to determine if there were juvenile Saw-whet owls dispersing through the Whitefish Point area. Our efforts resulted in banding 200 juvenile Saw-whets in three weeks during July and August. While the spring and fall migrations of Saw-whets have been well studied both at Whitefish Point and throughout the continent, this exploratory study represents the first ever documentation of an incursion of juvenile Saw-whets during the post-breeding period. A juvenile Saw-whet is easy to tell from an adult because it has a completely different plumage. When the juveniles leave the nest, they have a dark facial disk and a buffy chest. It may take up to several months for them to molt into the full adult plumage. Because Saw-whet owl dispersal in these quantities has never been documented before, we are continuing this research during summer 2007, and hope to target a few specific questions in order to learn more about these owls and their summer movements.
Nest Box Project
One key question that arises with this research study is whether or not we have a large local breeding population of Saw-whets. The answer to this question will help us determine how many of the juvenile birds we capture in the summer are local vs. dispersing from other areas. Saw-whets tend to nest in old woodpecker cavities. We plan to put up nest boxes, which simulate a cavity, but are much easier to check and manage each year. In order to do this, we need funding for lumber and/or donations of lumber from local mills. We also need local volunteers to let us put nest boxes on their property. Having breeding owls in your backyard is not only good for owls, but will also help decrease your mouse population!