We are now two thirds of the way through the two-week extension of our Northern Saw-whet Owl monitoring program and thus far this season has found the middle ground between 2021 and 2022 with respect to nights of effort. During the second third (October 6th-10th) we have been able to owl on three nights, the 6th (16 banded), 8th (8 banded), and 9th (14 banded) for a total of six nights out of 10 in October. Our numbers the last three outings are up from the first three with a total of 38 banded versus 32. That said our total for October now sits at 70 owls banded and one recapture in six nights. For comparison in 2021 due to foul weather we were only able to get out and owl on six nights in total out of 15 yet we still banded a record total of 79! In 2022 the weather was far more cooperative as Sachiko was able to get out on almost every evening save the 10th for a total of 42 owls banded and three recaptures. By this stage there were 61 owls banded in 2021 and 26 in 2022, so it goes without saying that Saw-whets had an extremely successful breeding season in 2023. In the bigger picture October 6th saw us beat our previous record of 133 owls banded in a season set in 2021 (which was the first owl extension into October) when we banded 16 for a total of 136! Since then, we have owled twice more and now sit at a record 158 new owls banded and five recaptures!
Now switching to songbirds I have continued to open the nets up on a whimsical basis which has translated to three 1–2-hour sessions. Over these three sessions I have banded nine new birds of eight different species along with three recaptures which were all Black-capped Chickadees. As migration slows and the residents become more prevalent in and around the net loop my perspective on what is “exciting” shifts as well. A hatch-year female Hairy Woodpecker who happily added to the numerous superficial nicks and cuts on my hands was a total delight. My second Fox Sparrow of October along with three members of the Zonotrichia clan, two White-crowned and one Golden-crowned Sparrow were subtly beautiful each in their own way. Of the three Black-capped Chickadees that I recaptured one had been first banded this season as a hatch-year whilst the other two were long-term residents of the valley. Both of these older birds were first banded in the first few days of the 2018 season as hatch-years which means that they are both exactly six years old! One of them I recaptured on the 3rd and thus have already written about what we know of its past on the previous post. The second one however also has a colourful history in our banding records which is worth elaborating on. This feisty little individual has been recaptured in every season since 2018 except 2020 and had the good fortune to be caught in August, September and October of 2021! Its only recapture in 2022 was on October 1st so it has been a year and 10 days since we last set hands on it. This is some of the most valuable data that we collect at the TLBO as it is easy to lose sight of our hardy residents in favour of the more colourful migrants.
Hairy Woodpecker (left) and one of the long-time resident Black-capped Chickadees (right)
As it neared midnight while I was owl banding on the evening of the 6th, I heard the barking calls of two Barred Owls as they made their way down the valley which marked our first detection of the season and the 151st species for the station’s hotspot in 2023! On the daytime observational front, the hordes of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets have thinned out with much smaller numbers still coming through and calling out to me as I wander along the census route. With this shift the waterfowl numbers of both species and individuals have increased making my outings to the lagoon all the more enjoyable as I scan through the rafts looking for something new and exciting. October 7th would mark our 152nd species of 2023 as I was able to pick out a female Eurasian Wigeon as she foraged amidst a raft of 58 of her cousins (American Wigeons). The distinction between these species is fairly straightforward if you are comparing males as a Eurasian Wigeon stands out like a sore thumb with its red head, light forehead and grey flanks. Females on the other hand are much more subtle as you have to first notice the rusty tones on their heads and then confirm that it does not contrast with their neck and flanks. If you are lucky enough to get one in flight then be sure to pay close attention to the underwing coverts which are dusky in Eurasian and pure white in American. Otherwise, Northern Shrikes and Lapland Longspurs (both scarce during our songbird monitoring season) have continued to be semi regular visitors over the past 10 days.
For those subspecies hybrid enthusiasts out there, I was visited by another interesting “Intergrade” Northern Flicker on the 8th. This is the closest to a pure “Yellow-shafted” individual that I have observed this season as all of the traits (peachy face with grey cap and red nape patch) pointed to “Yellow-shafted” except for the flight feathers which appear to begin as an orangish-red near the base and shift to yellow halfway to the tips. The other sighting of note was our second record of a Black-billed Magpie as I watched one flying north over the lake to briefly stop atop a large cottonwood before continuing on. Is this one of the trio from September 23rd and will they stay and attempt to breed in the valley next spring? That remains to be seen.
All of my recent checklists at our Station’s Hotspot on eBird can be seen at: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L989990/activity?yr=all&m=
The forecast looks promising tonight although it has misled me many times in the past, including last evening where it appeared to be calm but once we reached the nets the intermittent gusts were too strong for us to open up. Stay tuned for the final blog post of the season on the 16th or sooner if the weather turns too foul for mist-netting.
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Nothern Saw-whet Owl Banding | |
Date | Banded |
October 6, 2023 | 16 |
October 8, 2023 | 8 |
October 9, 2023 | 14 |
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Non-standard Banding – Oct. 07 to 11 | ||
Species | Banded | Recaptured |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 2 | |
White-crowned Sparrow | 2 | |
Savannah Sparrow | 1 | |
Lincoln’s Sparrow | 1 | |
Golden-crowned Sparrow | 1 | |
Hairy Woodpecker | 1 | |
Fox Sparrow | 1 | |
Black-capped Chickadee | 3 | |
Total | 9 | 3 |
Here’s to more owl weather over foul weather.
Yes!!!