From Dr. Karl Kleiner's website

November 30 of last year marked the end of the ninth year of the Northern Saw-whet Owl banding project sponsored by the Ned Smith Center for Nature and the Arts that has resulted in banding 490 owls at three different stations.

Several members of the Appalachian Audubon Society are either licensed banders or volunteers in this effort.

This is probably the most ambitious Saw-whet Owl banding project in North America, in terms of personnel, with 18 licensed banders and 80 volunteers working at three sites. Other stations regularly capture more owls than this project.

The sites are: Hidden Valley in western Schuylkill county, on the property of the Hidden Valley Golf Course; Small Valley, in northern Dauphin County, on the property of the Hemlock Girl Scout Council’s camp; and King’s Gap Environmental Education Training Center, in southern Cumberland County.

The banders and volunteers annually log 5,000-6,000 person-hours in a season.

The Northern Saw-whet Owl is the species depicted on Pennsylvania’s original conservation license plate. The license plate rendering of the owl is nearly life size. The purpose of the project is to learn more about this mysterious owl’s migration, abundance and ecology.

Until a few years ago, we knew that their breeding range stretched across Alaska and Canada, south through the Rockies to Mexico, and down the Appalachians as far south as the mountains of North Carolina. The project has given us a better idea of their migration route, especially through the Appalachian Mountains, a route that was essentially unknown until the 1990’s.

For each of the last nine years, the Ned Smith Center’s team of trained researchers and volunteers have captured hundreds of Saw-whet Owls. The owls were harmlessly banded, measured, aged, had their sex determined, and were then released. All of this information is archived and used in research.

The Ned Smith Center’s five-year average is about 450 Saw-whets per year. A tape-recording of the Saw-whet’s call lures the owls into almost invisible mist nets, from which volunteers gently extract them for examination and banding.

The slender, lightweight leg band that is placed on the captured owl’s leg is provided by the federal Bird Banding Laboratory, and is stamped with sequential numbers.

If another group of banders recaptures a banded owl, or if a banded owl is found dead by a member of the general public, the band number is reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory. The federal Bird Banding Laboratory notifies the original bander that one of the owls they banded has been recaptured, and provides the date and location of recapture.

Additionally, at the King’s Gap facility, selected owls are fitted with tiny radio transmitters weighing less than a penny, which allow for tracking of the owls during daylight, to determine stopover behavior, habitat and roost site selection. Certain owls are selected for DNA studies, conducted by Dr. Karl Kleiner of York College of Pennsylvania, who is comparing Saw-whet genetics from across North America.

Banded owls recaptured by the Ned Smith project team have been determined to have been originally banded in Canada, across the eastern United States, and in the upper Midwestern and southern states of the U.S., as well as at several other banding stations in Pennsylvania. Some owls are recaptured a few years after the original banding date.

Along with the many people-hours devoted to this project by Appalachian Audubon Society members, the Appalachian Audubon Society has donated funds designed for the Northern Saw-whet Owl project.

Anyone interested in monetarily assisting with the project can help by “adopting” an owl.

Owl adoptions make great gifts! Owl adoptions are the major source of funding for the replacement of very expensive equipment needed for this project.

With an owl adoption, the adopter receives a certificate with the owl’s picture, the band number, the date it was captured and released and other pertinent information. This certificate is suitable for framing.

If this bird is recaptured by another banding station, or in a year subsequent to the banding year, the adopter is notified by mail, telling where and when the owl was recaptured.

All funds raised through adoption are for the sole use of the owl-banding project. Information on adopting an owl can be found at the Ned Smith Center website or by calling 717-692-3369.

This article was written by Carl Juris and originally appeared in the January 2006 issue of the King Fisher Courier newsletter of the Appalachian Audubon Society, President Ramsay Koury, send email to: rkoury123@aol.com or call 717-761-1871.

Visit the Audubon PA website for more information on birding and habitat issues in Pennsylvania.

1/20/2006