While the intention was to summarize the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory’s 2024 Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, high winds followed by rain caused several delays and we could not complete our MAPS efforts. Yet, in what we have finished of our last period of MAPS was a first for our station: banding… Read more »
Weekly Reports
July 11 – 17, 2024
As the songs of spring morph into chips from hungry young birds to their diligent parents, we are seeing many fledgling birds in the nets. These fledglings are taking the next harrowing step towards adulthood as they leave the nest and finish growing. While all our songbirds start out helpless and require constant care from… Read more »
July 4 – 10, 2024
Here at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory (LSLBO) we are over half-way through our MAPS program, which focuses on breeding birds. So far in MAPS 44% of our captures were recaptures – that’s a bird that is already banded. Recapturing banded birds is the only way for us to accurately know the age of… Read more »
June 27 – July 3, 2024
The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is still monitoring locally breeding songbirds, but a few birds have already left their summer homes. This dispersal netted us a young Varied Thrush – our first captured during MAPS and only the ninth we have ever banded. While range maps will tell you this species cannot be found… Read more »
June 20 – 26, 2024
Last week we discussed how to responsibly enjoy wild spaces with our dogs. Yet dogs are not the only pet that harms wildlife. In Canada, the largest direct human-caused killer of birds is domestic cats, whose depredations far exceed the deaths caused by collisions with windows, wind turbines, and cars combined 1. Bird are especially… Read more »
June 13 – 19, 2024
Now that the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is focusing on our monitoring programs for breeding songbirds, we want to discuss some visitors that can hurt our birds: people and their pets. Last fall we met eleven dogs during monitoring at the station, five of which were off-leash. One uncontrolled dog even charged into one… Read more »
June 6 – 12, 2024
On June 10, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory wrapped up Spring Migration Monitoring after 56 consecutive days of counting birds. Spring began promising on April 16 with counts of over 5,000 Slate-coloured Juncos despite the warm temperatures and little snowfall over the winter. Juncos normally move through before we can start monitoring when early… Read more »
May 30 – June 5, 2024
As June 10 brings closer the last day of the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory’s Spring Migration Monitoring program, the forest is full of love, but few migrants. Despite the seemingly persistent high winds and rain which kept the nets shut, we continued to count birds daily. While most migrants were large flocks of Cedar… Read more »
May 23 – 29, 2024
Most birds who migrate north of the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory to the tundra have already left and taken with them the peak of overall avian diversity for the year. Yet the nets still have some surprises for us including the 35th ever (but ninth of spring) Connecticut Warbler and our fourth ever (second… Read more »
May 15 – 22, 2024
On May 15, Team Tanager the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory ran our Birdathon fundraiser and were able to find 102 species – a great total, but none of them were exceptional observations. Our other fundraising team also recently ran their traveling Birdathon and long-time readers may recognize this ‘voice’. Greetings from Sherwood Park! Some… Read more »
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While this Ruffed Grouse may have been the last bird captured during Fall Migration Monitoring, it was not the last bird banded since we cannot band these non-migratory Albertan gamebirds. To find out who got our last fall band, check out our fall summary: www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding-reports/september-26-october-3-2024/
Thank to the LSLBO banders for sharing their world (and their beautiful owls) with our Owl Night visitors. They are our favourite programs of the year! ❤️
It has been a busy owl season and we are even catching them in our Fall Migration Monitoring nets! Thank you to our banders who carefully extracted this Northern Saw-whet owl and its breakfast vole. If you have ever wondered what these tiny owls eat, it looks like "alot"! ![]()
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Check out how our Fall Owl Migration Monitoring season is going so far in the latest LSLBO weekly report.![]()
www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding-reports/september-19-25-2024/