1999 Owl Migration Monitoring at TCBO

Record results in 1999

In 1999, the nocturnal owl migration monitoring program ran from 9 September through 2 November. During that period, owling was canceled on only three nights and curtailed due to poor weather on seven other nights.

The first Northern Saw/whet Owl was caught on the night of 15-16 September. The busiest nights were: 27-28 September (31 in standard period, 63 in 6.9 hours of additional trapping), 3-4 October (35 in standard period, 16 in 4.4 h of additional trapping), and 10-11 October (31 in standard period, 28 in 5.5 h of additional trapping).

A record 646 Northern Saw-whet Owls, including four foreign-banded owls, were captured in 1999. Of these, 360 birds were captured during the standard four-hour nightly coverage period. Two Long-eared Owls and two Boreal Owls were also captured and banded. A Barred Owl was seen in the area on the night of 10-11 October.

The record high catch in 1999 was due largely to increased after-hours effort: the number of Saw-whets caught in the standard period in 1999 was actually comparable to 1998 levels, when 304 birds were captured during the standard period with only 30 nights coverage. At least three Saw-whets banded at Thunder Cape in 1999 were recaptured at a station in northeast Wisconsin later the same fall.