Birds were counted in the droves at the LSLBO this week. Between recording 26 544 Greater White-fronted Geese, 12 972 Lesser Snow Geese, and 4 339 American Robins, there were also a handful of blackbirds, Tree Swallows, Orange-crowned Warblers, and several sparrow species made a first appearance for the year. Despite so much overhead migration,… Read more »
Weekly Banding Reports
April 22 – 28, 2021
Migration is underway, if somewhat slowly because of the cold weather and snow. Yet interesting observations are made daily. The highlight of the week came in the few hours we were able to open the nets and captured a Townsend’s Solitaire – only the fifth time we have banded this species since 1994! Other bird… Read more »
April 17 – 21, 2021
Beginning in March and wrapping up this week, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory completed roadside owl surveys as part of a collaborative project with Strix Environmental Consulting on behalf of West Fraser. These surveys involve driving out to predetermined locations and listening for calling owls, as well as playing recordings of different owl songs,… Read more »
September 24 – 30, 2020
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 »
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 »
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Migration is happening! We are seeing new species arrive daily, including this Yellow-shafted Flicker - a type of woodpecker which many people may be unfamiliar with. To learn more about the past week and about a new collaborative study on an ectoparasite that few people want to be familiar with, check out: www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding-reports/april-29-may-5-2021/
We just learned that one of the Northern Saw-whet Owls we banded in 2018 was found again this February in California. Although the distance covered (almost 2000 km) is remarkable, what's even more amazing is that this bird was 4.5 years old and likely made this trip multiple times! Unfortunately, she was found dead of unknown causes. If you ever find a banded bird, we researchers would love to know - you can tell us at: www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/bblretrv/
Sharp-shinned Hawks, like this little lady we captured this morning, are our smallest hawk species. Unlike songbirds, with hawks it is the female that is normally larger than the male.