Hi Folks,
Hammond Hill Owl Station, HHOWLS, has been banding saw-whets this fall, as
usual. So far, this year is either very bad or very late. A major binding
station several hundred miles north of us has done alright. A major banding
station 100 miles north of us is way low. We have caught only 10 birds, boo,
hiss.
Last night we caught three birds, a modest number, but we had a nearly
unbelievable sequence of recaptures. I wouldn't dare send this out for fear of
being labeled a delusional madman, except that several witnesses including Bob
McGuire and Wes Blauvelt who were part of the data recording.
We caught one banded bird with a dull, oxidized band. Now it is common to
recapture a banded bird within a few days of banding, but their bands are
shiny. I knew instantly that this was a bird banded some long time before. That
brief look at the band, got me really excited. So, in the banding shed we read
the number by rolling the band between fingers. The prefix number was 1015-
(interesting because that is part of the band sequence I have for my bands) -54
(what!!?) 627 (No, that can't be, but after several rechecks by young eyes
using a magnifying lens, yes it was.) That was one of my bands we put on a bird
two years ago. Further it was a bird initially banded on 27 Sep. as an After
Second Year female. This is really early for migration and we opened nets at
this time because I couldn't resist starting early. The next night, 28 Sep., it
was re-captured, and re-re-captured on 10 Oct, and re-re-re-captured on 18
October, and finally re-re-re-re-captured on 4 Nov. Saw-whets do not, usually,
have explicit flyways, but this one did. Now please enter into your suspension
of disbelief. The next net check, there was another bird with an old, oxidized
band in the net. As we started to read the band in the banding shed, it was
1015-(Come on!) 54 (This can not be!!) 667****!!!!. Understand that bands are
assigned in a sequence by hundreds. Again, I call upon my witnesses to verify
that we had another bird we banded two years ago as an ASY female. Not only
that, the second bird was banded on 4 Nov., the same night as the last time the
first bird was caught.
I will gladly entertain any explanation of this sequence. Is this purely
coincidence? Birds that nested just north of us on Hammond HIll? Or simply a
wild fluke? Etc. We'll never know, but it you can take your pick.
Not conceptually earthshaking, but sure fun, rewarding for all the effort, and
interesting.
John Confer
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