The Central Ohio Owl Project started Northern Saw-whet Owl banding efforts on October 16th and the nets have been open almost every night since then. Ten Northern Saw-whet Owls have been banded; and the best night so far was November 6th, with four saw-whets caught. The owls captured so far this fall have been a mix of young and older individuals; this is very different compared to the fall of 2020, when all of the owls that were caught had been hatched that year.
In addition to the saw-whet owls, this has been a good year for Eastern Screech-Owls, with three banded and a recapture of an individual that had been banded last year. One of those captured was a striking red morph screech-owl. Banding attempts will continue until late November.
Columbus Audubon is proud to support the Central Ohio Owl Project. To learn more, see the project website.