And, we're underway!

Nest box season is underway! Male Eastern Bluebirds have been spotted perched atop boxes at Boyce-Mayview and Peterswood Park. Several boxes contain some grasses, the beginnings of nests.

The Tree Swallows have returned, and one has begun nest-building at Peterswood Park. Numerous others were seen today performing their acrobatic flights over the nest box area and adjacent fields. At least one Eastern Bluebird seems to have selected a box here as well. It will be interesting to see if he will be able to maintain his property rights or if he will be displaced by swallows.

I will be color-banding birds this year and will post more about that soon. Come back for updates to see how you can be involved!

Who?

Hey, uh-oh  that's not a Northern Saw-whet Owl! That's what I was thinking as I came up to the net near the end of the night recently. This beautiful red morph Eastern Screech Owl graced our nets, after I heard bill snapping as I walked by on a net check. Screech Owls are larger than saw-whet owls, with matching "larger" personalities, and talons! Despite all of that, this owl was easy to extract and was released without even leaving a scratch.

Anybody out there?

Are there any owls out there? This weekend we will undertake our first spring Northern Saw-whet Owl banding. Although spring migration is usually more dispersed, we will make efforts this spring to determine if Northern Saw-whet Owls are moving back through this area on their way north. Our efforts in the spring are not as concentrated as in the fall, but we will be out there checking the nets. Results will be posted here. Stay tuned!