Northern Saw-whet Owl banded 11/5

It appears that this year is going to be a big year for Northern Saw-whet Owls here in the Kiptopeke area, as well as, most of Virginia. There are several Saw-whet Owl banding stations located through out Virginia and they are all reporting record or near record numbers for this season already. Northern banding sites have been catching large number of Saw-whets and it is predicted that more are on their way south. So it is hopeful that this is just the start here. We have caught two Saw-whets so far this season with the first being a recapture from the nearby owl banding effort here (run by the Center for Conservation Biology) and the other this little cutie, an unbanded adult. A species we rarely catch here (only one since 1994), I am hopeful that we will catch a few more before the end of the banding season (which ends 11/22).