Sep 1: 9 Saw-whets were banded, all hatch-year birds.  A bright moon slowed things down around midnight as it rose.

Aug 31: 6 Saw-whets banded, all hatch-year birds.  Things slowed down after the bright moon came up.  Nearly bumped into a porcupine near the nets; fortunately it didn’t get caught in a mist net.

Aug 30: No owls banded. Too much wind, too much light from the full moon.

Aug 29: 5 Northern Saw-whets banded, all hatch-year, despite the bright full moon.  Nets were open for 3 hours.

Aug 28: Very bright moon; nets open for 2 hours, no owls banded.

Aug 27: Too windy to open the nets.

Aug 26: Nets open for 2.5 hours, but conditions weren’t good- too windy and too much moonlight.

Three new Northern Saw-whets banded on the night of Aug 25. All three were hatch-year birds.

A fourth owl was caught; this one had been banded five days ago.

The nets were open for 2 hours and were closed at 12:15AM due to a cat in the area.

Banding results for Aug 21-24:

Aug 21: 1 Northern Saw-whet (hatch-year) banded.

Aug 22: 2 Northern Saw-whets (both hatch-year) banded.  Nice aurora display around 2AM.

Aug 23: 1 Northern Saw-whet (hatch-year) banded.

Aug 24: 5 Northern Saw-whets (hatch-year) banded.

Eight more hatch-year Northern Saw-whets were banded last night; nets were open for 2.75 hours.

The first night with the nets open resulted in 9 Northern Saw-whets banded.  All 9 were hatch-year birds, many with pin feathers evident on the feet / legs.  Nets were open for 2.5 hours.

We had the first snow that stuck a few days ago- there’s still about half an inch covering the net lanes.  Weather (and a dead audio lure battery) limited banding for the last several days.

• Oct 22: 4 Northern Saw-whets banded.  There were several very vocal owls responding to the lure through the night again; it seems that they are more vocal this year than during previous seasons.
• Oct 21: No owls banded.  Opened nets for two hours before the lure battery died (this happens when I forget to charge it for a couple of weeks).  The nets were frozen solid during closing.
• Oct 20: No owls banded.  Opened for a little while but the snow picked up and was sticking to the nets, making them quite visible.
• Oct 19: Three Northern Saw-whets banded.

Still catching a few owls every night that weather permits opening the nets.

Over the last week or so:

Oct 18: 3  Northern Saw-whets and one Boreal Owl.  Visitors included students from Kenai Peninsula College.

Oct 15: 3 Northern Saw-whets and one Boreal Owl.  Visitors included Gary Lyon and students from Kenai Peninsula College.

Oct 14: 2 Northern Saw-whets and one recapture of a Saw-whet banded here in 2012.

Oct 13: 4 Northern  Saw-whets and one returning Saw-whet that was banded here in September of this year.

Oct 11: 2 Northern Saw-whets

Things have been pretty slow for the last few days.  The bright full moon lights up the net setup too much; if I can see the nets without a flashlight, I’m sure the owls can.  A full lunar eclipse at around 2AM AKDT Wednesday morning (10/8) brought just enough darkness to bring in the last owl for the night.

Oct 7: 4 Northern Saw-whets

Oct 6: No owls banded

Oct 5: One Northern Saw-whet

Lunar Eclipse early Wednesday morning (around 2:30AM AKDT, Oct 8, 2014)