▶️ Northern Saw-whet Owl

[Probatim]

1. Fantastic little murder birds.

I participated in a NSWO banding event last winter.

We arrived about an hour before dark to set up mist nets and an electronic call. The process included - hiking to the site, checking on the nets, going back to sit around a campfire and shoot the breeze for an hour, and repeat until about 2:00 am.

On our first trip, we caught two NSWO. Each was taken back to the "station" to be weighed, aged, sexed, and checked for body fat. After that, one lucky participant got to hold the owl before it was released.

What we learned is that the vast majority of owls captured like this are females. Males seem to be less likely to migrate. And that despite their size, they are pretty ferocious. The lead bander spent the better part of two hours cleaning up the bites and scratches from the second bird. We also learned it's pretty hit or miss to catch these birds. We ended up with three after 5-6 hours sitting out in 30 degree weather - and that was a "good night".