We saw our first snow over the last couple of days as things warmed up after several days of below-freezing temperatures; 4-5 inches of snow fell on the 23rd/24th.

The season’s 200th owl was caught on the 22nd.

Oct 24: No owls banded.
Oct 23: No owls banded.

Oct 22:

• 3 Northern Saw-whet Owls banded
• 1 Boreal Owl banded

Oct 21:

• 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl banded
• 1 Boreal Owl banded

Oct 20: No owls banded

Oct 19:

• 2 Northern Saw-whet Owls banded
• 4 Boreal Owls banded

Things have slowed down over the last couple of nights as the temperatures dropped below freezing.  This follows several good banding nights that seem to have come later in the season than usual.

Oct 18: 

• 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl (and one returning Saw-whet first banded 4 days ago)
• 2 Boreal Owls

Oct 17:   No owls banded; nets only open for a couple of hours.  Opened late due to other commitments.

Oct 16:   

• 6 Northern Saw-whet Owls banded

Oct 15: 

• 9 Northern Saw-whet Owls banded
• 3 Boreal Owls banded

The last couple of nights have been ideal for banding- no rain, no strong wind, and dark.  The next few nights look like they’ll be more of the same.  On Oct 14, I banded the largest number of Boreal Owls for a single night at this location since the project started in 2009.

Oct 14:

• 6 Northern Saw-whet Owls plus one return visit from an owl banded in late August (3rd time this individual has been trapped); one of the new Saw-whets was a 2nd year bird, the rest were hatch-year birds.
• 8 Boreal Owls, all hatch-year birds

Oct 13:

• 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl
• 1 Boreal Owl

Not many good nights for banding over the last week; lots of rain and/or wind.  A few owls were banded on the nights that nets were opened:

Oct 11: 7 Northern Saw-whets banded; one was a second-year bird, the rest were hatch-year birds.

Oct 9: 1 Northern Saw-whet banded.  Thanks to Erick and Veronica for the help and company.

Oct 8: 2 Northern Saw-whets banded. Thanks to the Kachemak Bay Birders and trip leader Gary Lyon for visiting.

We finally had a good night for owl banding last night (Oct 6), after nearly a week of very little opportunity.  Rain, wind, and rutting moose kept the nets closed most nights.

Oct 6:

• 8 new Northern Saw-whets were banded; an additional Saw-whet originally banded in 2015 made a return visit.
• 2 Boreal Owls were also banded.

The last few nights have been slower, with a few owls banded each night.

Sep 30:

• 3 Northern Saw-whet Owls (all hatch-year)
• 1 Boreal Owl (hatch-year)

Sep 29:

• 2 new Northern Saw-whet Owls banded and one recapture of a bird banded last year.

Thanks to Kara, Erick, and 7 other visitors this night.

Sep 28:

• 4 Northern Saw-whet Owls banded (all hatch-year)
• 1 Boreal Owl (hatch-year)

Banded Boreal Owl after release, Sep 30, 2017