By Patti Campsall – Executive Director The staff at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory had just one word to describe this week; QUIET! After the initial rush of early season migrants like Dark-eye Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, and a wide range of waterfowl, migration has slowed down to a trickle. Although we are spotting… Read more »
Weekly Reports
April 30 – May 5, 2020
Birdwatching: the perfect physical distancing activity Now that the snow has melted and spring has officially arrived, the beloved warblers are starting to trickle in at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. The first Black-and-white Warbler of the season was encountered on May 4th, followed by the first Yellow Warbler two days later. Since both… Read more »
April 21 – 29, 2020
Spring is finally here, and the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is beginning our 27th consecutive year of monitoring the migratory and breeding birds along the shores of Lesser Slave Lake. However, due to the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to let everyone know about some major changes to our operations this… Read more »
September 27-October 3, 2019
On September 30 we wrapped up the busiest Fall Migration Monitoring season in the LSLBO’s 26 years – at least in terms of banding. The unofficial season-end total came in at 3739 birds banded, beating the previous record set in 2002 of 3496 birds. This year also tied for the most diverse fall banding season… Read more »
September 20-26, 2019
It has certainly slowed down for the LSLBO this week. Although migration gets to be quiet this time of year, I suspect the weather has had a major influence. The high winds have hampered migration activity and have kept our nets closed for 67% of this week’s monitoring period. The only big movement recorded was… Read more »
September 13-19, 2019
It has been yet another unusually busy week of Fall Migration Monitoring for the LSLBO with 264 birds banded. This brings our fall banding total to 3563, officially making this the busiest fall season in our 26 years of monitoring with over a week left to go! The former busiest fall season was in 2002… Read more »
September 6-12, 2019
Pictured: The first Fox Sparrow banded for 2019 Fall Migration Monitoring. Fall Migration Monitoring continues to keep us unusually busy. Across our past 25 years of monitoring, we band an average of 480 songbirds over the course of September. Yet this year we have banded 706 birds since September began. With over two weeks left… Read more »
August 30-September 5, 2019
This week we began our Owl Migration Monitoring program that targets two very small owl species: the Northern Saw-whet Owl, which is about the size of a pop can, and the slightly larger Boreal Owl. Despite the targeted efforts of researchers across Canada and the United States, these owls’ movements are still poorly understood. Before… Read more »
August 23-29, 2019
The wind has continued to plague our monitoring operations again this week, but conditions are improving. Unlike last week, where we were only able to open the mist-nets for 52% of the monitoring period, this week we have achieved 68% of our netting coverage. Although we have had the nets open for longer, we have… Read more »
August 16-22, 2019
Things continue to slow down for our Fall Migration Monitoring program with only 169 birds banded in the last week. The weather has not been cooperating with rainy days becoming windy days – preventing mist-netting to the extent that only one day this week achieved full net hours. Not only has the weather been impacting… 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/