Hi John and all, You can count me "in" this year.
bob McGuire On Aug 12, 2013, at 4:12 PM, John Confer wrote: > To HHOWLS Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding Team > > FIRST, LET ME SAY THAT UNSCHEDULED VISITORS ARE A MAJOR CAUSE OF BANDING > MISHAPS AND ARE NOT WELCOME. > > Migration has formally started. There are reports from Montezuma by those who > look for beaks that dip by about 2 mm as seen from about 500,000 mm away and > who get chills and thrills when they find one that does. (Forgive limp > attempt at humor) > > In contrast, imaging having a saw-whet in hand with its talons in your > fingers and its bright little eyes staring at you from a foot (pun) away. How > much more blessed is it to see the bird so close that you have to use your > reading glasses. > > Last year the Hammond Hill Owl Site (that would be HHOWLS, which I can hear > from you), which is about 3 miles southeast of Slaterville Springs, NY, had a > phenomenal year. The banding crew was great in all aspects and we got banding > data for 102 birds. That included three birds banded elsewhere that we > recaptured and one Screech Owl that we banded the year before that was back > trying to eat saw-whets again this year (just before it went for a longer car > ride). We had one of our birds, which we banded the year before last, that > was recaptured last year and one of the birds banded last year recaptured > last year. Bob McGuire, Julia Gillis, Andy Myers, and I co-authored a paper > about that wonderful year for The Kingbird (first issue of this year). > > I never imagined that there would be numerous saw-whet owls migrating through > our yard, until I heard a seminar by Valerie Freer at the annual meeting of > the New York State Ornithological Association describing her success in her > yard. Now that the real migration is about to begin, I am hoping to have > another great year of banding, literally, in Karen’s and my front yard. > > I hope to work with another great banding team. As with last year, I expect > that HHOWLS banders should come out at least three nights. The first two > nights of “help” from those with a commitment to being part of the banding > team are much more of a handicap than an asset. I can’t give primary > attention to the birds’ welfare and the accuracy of the data recording with > several banders-to-be around who are unfamiliar with the process and > UNSCHEDULED visitors. > > This year I am going to ask the banding team to choose specific nights of the > week and to try to come on those nights (or wee, early hours of the morning > of the next day) for the duration from end of Se to 5th or 10th November. I > will also need some additional help expanding the net lines for some new nets > to be established sometime in mid- to late September. > > If you are interested in being a regular bander again this year or for the > first time, please email me or call 607-539-6308 for further > information. > > If you would like to see the banding process, I would be delighted to show > those who have scheduled a visit, which allows me to control the number of > visitors on any given night. Not even Karen can give someone else permission > to come, if you hope to see our marriage continue, which was jeopardized last > year. > > Cheers, > > > > John Confer > > <confer.vcf> -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
