So the banding team wound up catching 168 Saw-whets this season. 8 of these birds had already been banded at other sites. The trend of a higher percentage of second year birds being caught continued through the season. If data trends prove correct Kathy thinks that next year will be a boom year (typically every 4 years) probably correlating with prey booms in northern forests. Clutch sizes are more like passerine species with Saw-whets laying up to 9 eggs, typically 5-6. If a rodent boom occurs many of the owlets will live to fledge and migrate. Sad to see the season end, but I always feel lucky to help out the awesome team at Drumlin who have been studying this amazing owl species for a long time now. Now on to Short-eared Owls and Long-eared Owls !
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