Looking for Fall: An Owl and an Author

Northern Saw-whet Owl

After looking for foliage, we were now looking for Owls.

We continued on to our hotel in Chesterton, checked in and headed over to Indiana Dunes for the Saw-whet Owl banding. The night was cool, but much warmer and less windier than the previous nights, so we were hopeful that they would catch some Owls.

Such a great opportunity

The event was held outside the Visitor Center, where a banding station was set up.

Prepped and ready for an Owl

It was run by the Indiana Audubon Society as part of Project Owlnet, a cooperative program that coordinates a network of hundreds of Owl-migration researchers in North America and abroad. By providing standardized methodologies, information on capture techniques, ageing and sexing resources, analytical tools, data archiving and other services, Project Owlnet makes it easier for ornithologists to study Owl movements and biology.

Saw-whet Migration Chart: USGS Bird Banding Laboratory

Founded in 1994, Project Owlnet began with and retains a primary focus on Northern Saw-whet Owls. Today, its member researchers study many other Owl as well. But, we were there for the Saw-whets, one of the two North American Owls I had never seen.

Volunteers had erected mist nets in three different locations two, three and nine miles away. The plan was that they would check the nets once an hour, hoping to catch tiny Owls as they migrate through from Canada to Tennessee. 

Such a little thing; Photo: Scott Stevens

They had just started the banding season a few days earlier and had yet to catch an Owl this year (not a good sign), but other stations in Indiana and Michigan had been having some good luck (a good sign). No one knew what effect the previous week’s wind on the lake and snow in Michigan would have, but I could tell the banders were itching to get an Owl. After all, it’s a cold, dark and late project for volunteers who all also have day jobs.

The program lead and main presenter

The banding isn’t open to the public every night, but when it is you can purchase tickets for $10 each. You bring your own chairs and snacks and they build a fire.

The project lead gave a brief presentation about the program and Saw-whet Owls and we waited.

First hour: no Owls.

Second hour: No Owls.

At this point, all of the other attendees had left (work the next day, sleepy children, whatever) and one of the banding volunteers had to leave. The remaining banders decided they would check the farthest net a half hour early and then shut it down if there were no Owls. The net has to be stowed away so that it won’t catch birds in the daytime. Then, they would move on to the other nets and decide if they wanted to try for one more cycle or shut it down.

Third hour: At the third site, they were ready to give up when they saw a tiny Owl way down at the bottom of the net! So, they brought her back and we got to watch (and participate) in the process.

Getting ready to band; Photo: Scott Stevens

We were the only guests left, so it was super special.

The reveal

Native to North America, the Northern Saw-whet owl is one of the smallest Owl species in North America, making them attractive prey for larger Owls and Raptors.

Often found at eye level in dense thickets, they also sit high up in trees (you might remember the little Saw-whet rescued from the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2020).

"Rocky;" Photo: Ravensbeard Wildlife Center

They migrate annually between Canada and the Appalachian mountains, but do not follow a strict pattern, which has made studying them tricky. Their small size also makes them difficult to track. Adults are 6.7 to 8.7 inches tall with a 16.5 to 22.2-inch wingspan. They can weigh from 1.9 to 5.3 ounces, with they average at 2.8 ounces (that’s similar to the size of an American Robin). Females are larger than males.

She weighed a little over 2.8 ounces

Saw-whet Owls make a repeated tooting whistle that is said to resemble the sound of a saw being sharpened on a whetstone, hence the name. They usually make these sounds to find a mate, so they can be heard more often April through June when they are looking for mates. Part of the banding process is playing this call. While the Owls are not searching for mates during fall migration, they are curious and will investigate a mating call and, when doing so, will unwittingly fly into the mist net.

Stretching

Like many Owls, Saw-whets have asymmetrical ears, which allow them to precisely localize prey so that they can hunt in complete darkness by hearing alone. They wait on a high perch at night and swoop down on prey, primarily deer mice, voles and shrews. They also eat chipmunks and red squirrels, various other mice species, flying squirrels, moles and bats with occasional small birds, frogs and aquatic insects. Saw-whets nest in coniferous forests of the North but winter in mixed or deciduous woods. They often live in riparian areas because of the abundance of prey. They live in tree cavities and old nests made by other small raptors.

Posing

Some are permanent residents in their habitat, but most migrate: either moving south in winter or moving down from higher elevations to lower elevations. 

Their range covers most of North America south of the boreal forest, including southeastern and south central Alaska, southern Canada, most of the United States and the central mountains in Mexico. 

Yes, we have them in Colorado, but I have never managed to find one (the banding sessions I attended caught "more rare" Boreal Owls, but not Saw-whets).

Although most migrate, there are two semi-isolated permanent populations in the eastern U.S.: in the Allegheny Plateau in West Virginia and in the higher elevations of the southern Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Plus there is a different non-migratory subspecies in the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia.

This one was fairly calm; some bite

When an Owl is captured for banding, it is measured … 

Wing and beak measures; Left photo: Scott Stevens

... and weighed, which generally gives a good indication of its sex … 

They stuff them head-first in a Pringles can to weigh them

Then its wings are examined ...

Looking for feather wear and tear, which indicates age

... including being exposed to UV light to determine how new its feathers are. Like many birds, Northern Saw-whet owls have porphyrin pigments in their flight feathers that glow pink when exposed to UV. The newer the feathers, the younger the Owl. Uniformly bright pink indicates that the Owl was hatched earlier in the year. Uneven fluorescing indicates several molts, meaning an older owl.

They have added a new measurement of checking the eye color against a palette of yellow paint chips. There isn’t enough data yet to know, but ornithologists suspect that eye color changes slightly with age, which would make ageing Owls even more accurate.

Looking at eye color and wing fluorescence

At Indiana Dunes, almost all the Owls they catch are young females. And, indeed, our beauty was a this-year’s hatch female.

It's a girl!

Once all the measuring and recording is done, a small band is placed on the Owl’s leg, using special banding pliers that can’t pinch the tiny leg. 

Putting on the band; Left photo: Scott Stevens

Then, it is photographed …

The final step

… and released. I was lucky this time and was selected (an easy choice; it was just Scott and me) to be the releaser. They placed the Owl on my outstretched arm, where she sat for awhile, getting her bearings. Because she wasn’t moving, they directed me to slowly raise and lower my arm and she finally took off into the night.

She can go whenever she wants

Every Owl captured and banded is available for “adoption.” For just $25 (we donated an additional $100), the Owl becomes “yours” and you will be given updates if she is ever recaptured. The money, of course, supports the banding project.

So, now we have a new baby!

And, she is a real cutie

It was a magical night. I am so, so glad Scott found that flyer and suggested we go back. And, while he was doing it for me, he was much, much more excited than I thought he would be. Maybe he’s becoming a birder. Or, at least a “raptorer.”

You can see a video of the banding (including the release) here. 

Photo: Scott Stevens

A Twainy Stop

Having accomplished our goals, we decided to head home. So, we drove west, spending one night in Kansas City before getting home the next day. 

Scott admires the Twain statue

The only stop we made was in Hannibal, Missouri, which is very, very proud of its native son, author Mark Twain.

Everything we saw in town (admittedly the touristy part on the riverfront) has "Twain" or "Mark" or "Mark Twain" in its name. Well, almost everything. We saw a couple references to Samuel Clemens (Twain's given name), too. 

We had lunch at the Mark Twain Dinette, where Scott had fried chicken that he declared delicious and I had a Midwest special – a Maid-Rite loose beef sandwich – that I declared “meh.” 

My sandwich would have been tasty had it been hot; Photos: Scott Stevens

Then we visited Riverview Park, home of lots of pretty views, trees and a Mark Twain statue …

The statue was erected in 1903

We watched lots of lady bugs…

Despite differences in spots, these are both Asian Lady Beetles

… admired the fall foliage …

Some pretty oranges and yellows, but some was still green

… and watched a train cross the Mississippi on the town’s really cool Wabash Railroad bridge.

The train was in two states for a long, long time because it must cross slooooowly

The original 1871 bridge was only the second bridge between Illinois and Missouri. It was used by trains, horse-and-wagon traffic and, later, automobile traffic. The bridge became a rail-only structure when the highway bridge opened downstream in 1936. 

In 1883, the steam powered cast iron swing span was replaced by a steel swing span. That swing span was removed in 1993, and replaced with a lift section that was moved from Florence, Alabama, where it had been part of a bridge over the Tennessee River.

A giant gear raises and lowers a center span so ships can pass

We heard the train approaching long before it crossed the bridge. It turns out that there is a 250-foot-long tunnel through the bluff (the bluff we were standing on) on the Missouri side of the Mississippi.

Even though trees obscured our view, it was fun to watch the train creep along as it headed east.

Homeward

Our last stop was Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge in a last ditch effort to find more birds. It was windy, so that was pretty much a bust. We saw an uncooperative Red-tailed Hawk that flew to the next tree every time I tried to photograph it and a very cooperative Mississippi Green Water Snake that was so still that I wasn't even sure it was alive.

It was alive

And, of course, Red-winged Blackbirds. 

They're everywhere!

Oh, and I don’t care what anyone says, Kansas City does not have the best barbeque. Not even close.

Trip date: October 10-22, 2022