It’s been a slow season start so far, with only 5 new Northern Saw-whet Owls banded and 2 returning owls from last year.

But things came to a halt tonight at the first net check- I found the whole setup demolished as three moose (who apparently don’t like mist nets) went running into the woods.

Three of the four mist nets in the setup were completely destroyed. One net may be salvageable. Time to place another order with Avinet; two of the destroyed nets were new this season and hadn’t even caught an owl.

Hopefully I have enough old nets, probably full of holes, to set up tomorrow while I wait for new nets to arrive.

The 2021 owl banding season here in Homer, Alaska is off to a very slow start.

Nets have been open (weather permitting) since Aug 20, but before last night, only a single owl had been caught- a returning 2nd year Northern Saw-whet Owl that was originally banded here 366 days earlier.

Last night, three owls showed up- all Northern Saw-whet adults. One was another 2nd year bird with a band (again, banded here exactly 366 days earlier); the other two were after-second-year adults.

So far, NO hatch-year birds have been banded during this season, making this season start the slowest in 12 years of banding here.

The 12th season of fall owl banding was concluded on Oct 31 for the season. Only a few owls were banded during the final week.

A total of 304 owls were banded, making this season the 2nd best here so far.

292 Northern Saw-whet Owls were banded, the largest number in a season yet. The age breakdown was as follows:

Additionally, three Saw-whets banded in previous years here were recaptured.

12 Boreal Owls were also banded. All Boreals banded were hatch-year birds.

Over the 12 years of banding here, Saw-whet numbers have ranged from as low as 20 to as high as 292 banded in a season. Boreal numbers have ranged from as low as 3 to as high as 56 banded in a season.

Banding has slowed down over the last week, with 2-3 owls banded per night. Temperatures are going below freezing at night, and the nets have been frosted up by about 11pm on several nights.

The 300th owl for the season was banded tonight. So far, the total (301) includes 289 Northern Saw-whet Owls and 12 Boreal Owls.

This season’s 265th Northern Saw-whet Owl was banded last night. This makes 2020 my best banding season yet for Saw-whets; the previous top season was Fall 2011, with 261 Saw-whets banded.

It remains to be seen whether or not 2011’s overall total of 317 banded owls will be surpassed. 2011 was also a good year for Boreal Owls, with 56 banded. Only 9 Boreals have been banded so far during 2020, but there are still a couple of weeks left in this season (I usually close things up at the end of October).

Continuing rainy weather has made banding slower during the last week. I’ve typically been banding 5-10 owls per night when it wasn’t raining.

The 2000th owl banded during 12 banding seasons at this location arrived tonight. Owl #2000 was a hatch-year Boreal Owl.

Seven Saw-whets and two Boreals were banded tonight after a relatively slow week- I only banded during a few nights over the last week due to near-constant rain. Totals for the season at this point: 233 Northern Saw-whets and 7 Boreals banded, plus three returning Saw-whets banded in previous years.

Although the Saw-whets seem to be slowing down, Boreals seem to be picking up- 4 of the season’s 7 were banded in the last 3 days. Another was seen watching the proceedings as the nets were being closed tonight:

The first Boreal Owls of the season arrived this week. Lots of owls being banded every night that the nets have been open; no banding for three nights mid-week due to weather.

Total as of Sep 18: 167 Northern Saw-whet Owls, 2 Boreal Owls banded.

Sep 10: 20 Saw-whets banded, all hatch-year birds.
Sep 9: 17 Saw-whets banded, one 2nd year, the rest hatch-year birds.

Both nights were cooler, clear and dark, with later moon rise times. Lots of vocalizations could be heard from owls close to the setup.

As of Sep 10, the 2020 banding total has exceeded that of all of 2019, and this is still early in the season. The typical peak of the season is usually in late September.

No banding tonight (Sep 8) due to a moose and her calf hanging out in the middle of the net area. This last week’s banding included the first adult Saw-whet banded this season. Early-season numbers are way up compared to the last several years.

Over the last week:

Sep 7: 7 Saw-whets banded, all hatch-year
Sep 6: No banding due to rain/wind
Sep 5: 8 Saw-whets banded, one 2nd year bird, the rest hatch-year
Sep 4: 7 Saw-whets banded, all hatch-year
Sep 3: 8 Saw-whets banded, all hatch-year
Sep 2: 3 Saw-whets banded, all hatch-year