by Patti Campsall, Executive Director Spring is starting to ramp up at the LSLBO as we reach our peak migration monitoring period. Over the past week, we have observed consistent movement of Swainson’s Thrush, White-throated Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and Clay-coloured Sparrows. May 27th was an especially big day for warblers, with over 1000 warblers counted… Read more »
Weekly Reports
May 14 – 20, 2020
By Laura Brandon – Boreal Educator If you’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the sunshine and spend some time outdoors over the last week, you will likely have noticed an increase in the number of beautiful bird songs around your neighbourhood and in the forest. This is no coincidence! In previous years, the third week of May… Read more »
May 6 – 13, 2020
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 »
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 »