August 4 – 10, 2022

Posted | filed under Weekly Reports.

The unusual and exciting captures of our Fall Migration Monitoring program continued for the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory with our tenth ever Red-winged Blackbird, despite periods of poor weather and often subdued bird activity. Thanks to this lull we are able to summarize our Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, which completed on… Read more »

June 30 – July 6, 2022

Posted | filed under Weekly Reports.

The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory field staff were busy this week with the MAPS program that monitors the breeding status of the diverse bird species that nest in Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park as well as completing vegetation surveys to monitor habitat changes in our study areas. This week, the banders are starting to… Read more »

June 16 – 22, 2022

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As we finish our second period of MAPS, shifts in breeding conditions are plentiful. These changes give hints to each bird’s nesting activity without us having to find the nest. The most detailed clues come from female songbirds who are often solely responsible for incubating a pair’s eggs. To efficiently warm these eggs, females drop… Read more »

June 9 – 15, 2022

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As June 10 concluded, so too did the 2022 Spring Migration Monitoring program at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. With daily coverage since April 18, arrivals and migration peaks have been documented for 160 bird species. Although bird movements began slow-steady with a few sparrow rushes early in the monitoring period, there was a… Read more »

July 29 – Aug 5, 2020

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By Sachiko Schott LSLBO Assistant Bander At migration monitoring stations like the LSLBO, birds that are captured are tallied in one of two categories each day: birds that were banded, and birds that were recaptured. A banded bird is a one that is captured and banded that day, while recaptured birds are those that are… Read more »

July 2 – 8, 2020

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By Bronwyn Robinson, Field Assistant Perhaps you are familiar with the nasally weh-weh-weh of a red-breasted nuthatch whisking up a tree trunk. They’re quite small and, in my humble opinion, shaped similarly to a thumb. We often get these fellows at the observatory. They don’t usually migrate, but if food becomes scarce they might all move at… Read more »

June 18-24, 2020

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By Patti Campsall, Executive Director The boreal forest is often referred to as North America’s bird nursery, and this week our researchers are observing lots of signs that birds are right in the middle of their nesting season. While finishing up the second round of the MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program, they were… Read more »

June 11-17, 2020

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by Laura Brandon, Boreal Educator After completing a very cool and wet Spring Migration Monitoring season, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory has begun our MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program which is a continent-wide project coordinated by the Institute of Bird Populations that studies breeding bird populations in order to better conserve them… Read more »

July 25-31, 2019

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Pictured: Water flooding over road south of Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, July 25. This week for the LSLBO had a dash of chaos tossed into the middle. A storm rolled in on July 25 that would hinder observations for the day, flood the nearby community of Marten Beach, and wash out two culverts along… Read more »

July 19-25, 2019

Posted | filed under Weekly Reports.

Fall migration began picking up this week at the LSLBO. Many of our warbler species are already on the move and the songs of remaining birds have become very intermittent and half-hearted. The forest has become much quieter and we are seeing less evidence of active breeding every day. July 21 saw the first burst… Read more »