To report technical problems,
e-mail webmaster@lslbo.org

Archived Postings

September 18, 2006 – September 24, 2006

September 18 to September 24, 2006 It is nearing the end of September and the leaves are turning their brilliant fall colours. The change seems a little late this year, meaning the leaves have not begun to fall in mass quantities yet. Mistnets act as giant leaf collectors and every one has to be extracted before the nets can be closed. A strong wind gust is usually followed by a muttered curse and a lot of work. Being spared leaf clearing duty so far meant there was time to enjoy the fall colours and some fall birding. A good number of common goldeneye, mallard, and bufflehead were seen daily on the lake in front of the lab. A few flights of sandhill cranes and greater white-fronted geese have been observed passing over as well. Reports indicated that the geese, cranes, and waterfowl were staging in large numbers on the west end of Lesser Slave Lake. Songbird activity was low with only a handful of sparrows, juncos, and kinglets observed during the week. A large passage of yellow-rumped warblers did occur mid-week. It appeared to be one of their last big pushes because very few have been observed since that day. Reports indicated that Slave Lake was overrun with American robins. After all these reports, serious consideration was put into moving the banding operation to either Kimiwan Lake or to one of Slave Lake’s laundromats. Daily banding totals remained low this week with fewer than 15 birds were captured each day. Some faith in September banding was restored this week when some very interesting birds were found in the nets. It was truly about the quality of birds captured, not quantity. A varied thrush was captured mid-week, becoming only the third one banded by the LSLBO. Three white-breasted nuthatches were moving through the area together and all ended up in the same net. Although white-breasted nuthatches are not uncommon, there have only been two banded at the station previous to this year. A marsh wren also found its way into one of the nets. It became only the third one banded at the station, the first fall banding record, and the first one I have had the opportunity to band. The first golden-crowned kinglet of the year was also banded this week. Golden-crowned kinglets are amazing birds. Weighing in at a mighty 6 grams (that’s less than a loonie); they are one of the smallest birds banded at the observatory. Even though they are a tiny bird, they stick around during the winter. With the exception of the varied thrush, all these birds were captured within a few hours of each other. Now that is a good banding day. Nightly owl banding continued this week with 43 more northern saw-whet owls captured. It is the mid-point of the owl banding program and already 123 saw-whet owls have been banded. It is fast becoming a great owl banding year. Like songbird banding, every owl captured is put through the banding process as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimize the stress to each bird. It is important to remember that these owls are wild animals and they should be treated with respect. However, my father made a discovery last year that most owls are now subjected to during banding. He discovered that the saw-whets absolutely love to have the back of their heads scratched. Saw-whets seem to have a wide range of facial expressions to fit their moods. Docile owls look very content, while angry owls manage to look very angry. But no matter how angry they appear at the time…a quick head scratch will make them melt like butter in your hands. They end up having the most blissful look you could ever imagine. It is short lived as they bite you, claw you, or poop on you as you’re releasing the owl.

2010