Pictured: This Brown Creeper was the last bird banded in our Fall Migration Monitoring program, 2020. After a week of high winds and few birds, on September 30 the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory completed the 2020 Fall Migration Monitoring season. And what a season it’s been! With approximately 3,944 birds banded (Table 1), this… Read more »
Weekly Reports
September 17 – 23, 2020
It’s official, Fall Migration Monitoring 2020 has been the busiest for bird banding in the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory’s 26 years of standardized monitoring. If you recall, this record was recently broken last fall when 3,761 birds were banded. With a week left to go in the fall program, we are already at 3,936… Read more »
September 10 – 16, 2020
At the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, the progression of the seasons is measured not only by the date on the calendar but also by the birds we see around us. As we approach the autumn equinox, Slave Lake is beginning to see an influx of later-migrating birds, among them Myrtle and Orange-crowned Warblers. A… Read more »
September 3 – 9, 2020
On September 1st, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory began its fall owl banding program. While the LSLBO never captures huge numbers of owls, this year had an especially slow start – it wasn’t until September 8th that the first Northern Saw-whet Owl was captured for the year! Pictured: The Northern Saw-whet Owl is one… Read more »
August 27 – September 2, 2020
By Robyn Perkins, Bander in Charge September brings the beginning of the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory’s owl migration monitoring program, and with it sleep loss for our banders as they juggle a program that runs nightly (owls) and another that begins at sunrise (songbirds). Concern over our sleep got me wondering how birds sleep… Read more »
August 20 – 26, 2020
With a few busy days scattered amongst those with poor weather which were predictably slower, this week at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory we’ve banded 557 birds, bringing our total for the fall to 2718 of 52 species. Capturing birds involves more finesse than one might expect. The location of the mist-nets is important…. Read more »
August 13 -19, 2020
The LSLBO has been busy. Although we monitor bird activity daily rain or shine, we can only open the nets we use to capture birds when the weather is calm and warm, which we experienced with this latest glimpse of summer. With good netting coverage, we have banded 511 birds this week, bringing our fall… Read more »
August 6 – 12, 2020
While the past week has forced our nets closed due to high winds and other unfavourable weather, since fall migration started we have been seeing an influx of young birds eager to head south as soon as possible. We’ve also finally finished the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program for this season. With stations… Read more »
July 29 – Aug 5, 2020
By Sachiko Schott LSLBO Assistant Bander At migration monitoring stations like the LSLBO, birds that are captured are tallied in one of two categories each day: birds that were banded, and birds that were recaptured. A banded bird is a one that is captured and banded that day, while recaptured birds are those that are… Read more »
July 23 – 29, 2020
by Laura Brandon, Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory Although many of us are just starting our summer vacations, birds are already on the move during the third week of fall migration monitoring. In total, we’ve banded 826 birds from 34 species so far this season, the majority of which have been Tennessee warblers and yellow… Read more »
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The early migrants are arriving in Slave Lake with sightings of Juncos, American tree sparrows, and our first robin this week. So that means our own Robyn will be starting up the Spring Migration Monitoring program at the station soon. ![]()
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If you would like to support our amazing team and bird conservation programs, you can send a donation to our Team Tanager in the Great Canadian Birdathon! ![]()
www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Birds_Canada/p2p/birdathon24/team/lesser-slave-lake-bird-observa...
Are you looking for a unique fieldtrip for your students this spring? Check out our hands-on programs for students from Grade 1 to post secondary. Just a reminder that we are only able to offer these programs during the spring migration season from mid May to June 10th. So call soon as dates are booking up fast. ![]()
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Interested in knowing more about what a bird observatory tour is like? Check out our LSLBO Video tour: ![]()
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qOPibmMQaU
Friday (Feb 16) is the LAST DAY to apply for our MIGRATION FIELD ASSISTANT position at the LSLBO!![]()
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If you have good birding skills and want to gain more hands-on field experience in the world of avian migration monitoring, visit our job board for more information on this rewarding position: ![]()
www.lslbo.org/job-opportunities/migration-field-assistant/