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 »
Posts Tagged: spring migration monitoring
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 9 – 15, 2024
Although goose migration has tapered off, our songbirds arrived in droves after being held up by stormy and snowy weather in southern Alberta last week. The biggest days for migration at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory were May 9 and 10 with around 2,500 Myrtle Warblers counted each day and diversity shot up with… 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 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 »
April 17 – May 3, 2023
Spring avian migration monitoring began at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory on April 17, 2023 for our 29th year of standardized monitoring. While we were excited to see the snow melted enough that our shovels were not needed to dig out the netlanes, the warm weather did not deliver us the rush of early… Read more »
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We are one week into our Fall Owl Migration Monitoring program with a slow start of only 9 Northern Saw-whets banded so far. Read more about this program and these owls: www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding-reports/august-29-september-4-2024/
It is always sad when the seasonal staff start to depart at the end of the summer. But getting a surprise light saber battle against a horde of giant spiders is a pretty awesome sendoff on your last day at the Boreal Centre! Meet our LSLBO summer education team who delivered so many great programs this season in the latest Weekly Report.![]()
www.lslbo.org/weekly-banding.../august-22-28-2024/
The Drop-in Bird Observatory tours have been cancelled for this morning due to the rain. Say dry everyone!