Fall Migration Monitoring at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory has ended. We normally wrap-up September 30, but ran through October 3 this year since overnight temperatures were still relatively warm, potentially delaying movements of short-distance migrants. These three extra days were not enough, however, to find those missing migrants as counts fizzled into mostly… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Fall Migration Monitoring
September 12 – 18, 2024
Overhead songbird migration and captures have been slow at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory as the end of Fall Migration Monitoring nears, but that is not to say nothing interesting has happened. We caught a Pileated Woodpecker – only the thirteenth we have ever banded and the first since 2019! As Canada’s largest woodpecker,… Read more »
August 15 – 21, 2024
As August slips away many of our long-distance migratory birds have departed for Central and South America so our counts and captures have slowed considerably. Soon we will say our last farewells to the few remaining stragglers and welcome tundra-breeding migrants. We must also say goodbye to our seasonal staff. While it has been a… Read more »
August 8 – 14, 2024
August was passing uneventfully for the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory until August 8 when a Black Bear approached within 5 m of field staff while they were yelling at it. Thankfully we always carry a canister of bear spray – even better, we have not yet needed to use one. We did not care… Read more »
August 1 – 7, 2024
Summer is slipping away fast at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. By the time August is over, we will have seen the last of most of our long-distance migrants that arrived only a few months ago for a hurried breeding season in the boreal forest. Their long journeys seem to have been worth every… Read more »
July 25 – 31, 2024
After being delayed by high winds and rain late last week which brought a few small trees down over our nets and trails, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory finally completed our breeding-focused Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program on May 28, 2024. In general, MAPS went smoothly with a few delays caused by… Read more »
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 »
September 28 – October 3, 2023
On October 3, Fall Migration Monitoring at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory ended after 84 days. We normally end on September 30, and this is the first time since 2008 that we pushed into October due to the unseasonably warm weather, which may have delayed movements of some short-distance migrants. It remains unclear if… Read more »
September 21 – 27, 2023
Fall migration continues to be unusually slow. The nights have been warm and the owls sparse, but there are other things of interest in the dark hours from the odd deer, flying squirrel, or bear to spectacular northern lights and migrating geese. It may come as a surprise that most migration occurs at night when… Read more »
September 14 – 20, 2023
Another slow week of migration (thanks mostly to strong winds) has concluded with an exciting capture: the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory’s sixth ever Lapland Longspur. Though we may see them near daily in the late fall, they are quite unlikely to find themselves in our nets. The last one banded was back in September… Read more »
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Our first capture of 2025... was actually banded September 12, 2024. Way to make it through your first winter little friend!![]()
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* Birds are handled by professionals and released unharmed as permitted by federal and provincial authorities. *
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