The start of September has seen a trickle of birds in our songbird migration nets, and a modest seventeen Northern Saw-whet Owls for our owl monitoring program. With the summer vacation season having ended and everyone returning to school and work, we look back fondly on the many tours we ran at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory (LSLBO) in partnership with the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation.
One of the questions we often get during these tours is how did we, the staff, get here? There is no degree or diploma for bird banding, after all. For many of us, it begins with an interest in wildlife and the environment. Our staff usually have some post-secondary education so that they have a good grasp on following standardized protocols, but a degree is only a requirement for the Bander-in-Charge.
The greatest skill one can have when pursuing this line of work is bird identification. It is not just identifying a bird by sight and sound, but also figuring out how to identify a species that you do not yet know. This includes distinguishing key features, from the shape of its tail to the colour of its crown, maybe even the way it flies. Many species may look identical to the untrained eye, and the only way to remedy that is with experience.
For myself, I could study bird songs at home at any time of the year, but field identification was an altogether different beast. Birds do not tend to behave conveniently, and they have a lot more sounds in their repertoire than the examples provided in bird ID apps. However, learning from an experienced birder provides a look into how someone who already knows hundreds of different species might tell them apart. If there is no friend or relative handy and eager to share their knowledge, this is where volunteering comes in. While dedicating my time pro bono, I explored banding stations in Ontario, the prairies of southern Alberta and the coast of New Jersey, all the while learning from birding veterans.
Above: Our most reliable volunteer (and board member) Edith Mackenzie releases our second Pileated Woodpecker of 2025 while learning how to handle larger birds.
This year, the LSLBO has welcomed 14 volunteers, some new and some returning. They have learned firsthand how we run the station, how to scribe accurately and set up the nets every morning. Some individuals sought to increase their experience in bird handling, while others flexed their identification skills following foraging flocks and overhead migration.
The LSLBO is not the only bird observatory that accepts volunteers to experience what we do. Including the LSLBO, there are 24 member stations part of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN). Donating some of your time can provide you with a wealth of information from people who have experienced it all for years.
To learn more from our researchers, join us for Family Owl Nights October 3rd or 4th at 8:00 PM. Space is limited. For more information and to register, contact the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation at info@borealbirdcentre.ca or (780) 849-8240.
By Bronwyn Robinson, LSLBO Assistant Bander
