Things are getting busy at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory with the start up of the Fall Migration Monitoring Program on July 12th. While some birds are already showing signs of migratory behaviour, many birds around the station are still actively raising their families as we finish up our MAPS program (Monitoring Avian Productivity… Read more »
Weekly Reports
June 29 – July 5, 2023
The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory contains breeding territory of five species of woodpeckers: Hairy, Downy, Pileated, American Three-toed, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. While we see plenty of them during their migrations (yes, some woodpeckers migrate like songbirds), Yellow-shafted Flickers rarely set up breeding territories near our sites. Indeed, prior to this year, we had never… Read more »
June 22 – 28, 2023
As we reach the peak of summer, it will not be long until we see young birds taking their first unsteady flaps from their home nest. As mentioned last week, some early nesters such as Black-capped Chickadees have already done so. Young birds still in the nest are called “nestlings”, and those old enough to… Read more »
June 15 – 21, 2023
After completing Spring Migration Monitoring on June 10, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is now well underway with the next of our core monitoring programs: Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS). MAPS studies locally breeding songbirds by capturing them at four sites in the Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park. Currently we are banding adults… Read more »
June 8 – 14, 2023
June 10 was the final day of Spring Migration Monitoring for the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. It was an unusual end for the season because a Cougar was spotted too close for comfort and we decided to pack it in a little early. Aside from the abnormal Cougar encounter, hot temperatures, thick smoke, and… Read more »
June 1 – 7, 2023
With most of spring migration complete, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is shifting gears to prepare for our breeding-focused projects beginning next week. Few species are still on the move. Yet, among the usual late migrating Alder Flycatchers, Mourning Warblers, and Canada Warblers have been a couple infrequent migrants with little in common with… Read more »
May 25 – 31, 2023
It has been a slow week at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory as we pass the peak in songbird migration. Only a handful of species are still moving, including Cedar Waxwings, Mourning Warblers, Alder Flycatchers, and Red-eyed Vireos. While most of our time is spent watching the skies and forests to document movements, the… Read more »
May 18 – 24, 2023
On May 17, Team Tanager of the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory participated in the Great Canadian Birdathon fundraiser. Teammates Wayne Bowles, Robyn Perkins, Bronwyn Robinson, and first-timer Sarahanne Thompson spent the morning at the migration monitoring station before heading out to tour a few hotspots nearby. The bird observatory did quite well with 73… Read more »
May 11 – 17, 2023
Many of our locally breeding migratory bird species were detected for the first time this past week. These species included Blue-headed Vireos, Least Flycatchers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Western Tanagers (our mascot), Swainson’s Thrushes, Magnolia Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, and Ovenbirds. We are excited to hear a diversity of warblers’ songs joining in with the local sparrows and… Read more »
May 4 – 10, 2023
For the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory (LSLBO), this past week has been unusual in a few ways. Some species seem to be late to arrive despite the unseasonably warm temperatures which have encouraged the trees to leaf out early. It’s hard to believe that this time last year it was snowing! As well, early… Read more »
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There has been another thrilling capture and it did indeed have long hind claws. These claws are hard to see when the bird is not in-the-hand, but they are this family's namesake. To discover who we banded read our weekly report: www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding-reports/september-14-20-2023/
It's that time of year again where we become night owls to capture these little owls! We have been running our owl migration monitoring program for two weeks now and it has been off to a slow start with half as many captures as this time last year. Read more: www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding-reports/september-7-13-2023/
It's not every day we are lucky enough to catch a Belted Kingfisher - in fact it has only happened twice in 30 years! Read more: www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding-reports/august-31-september-6-2023/