Tiny Owls, Big Night at Black Mountain

On Saturday night, a small group gathered at the Black Mountain Banding Station (BMBS) for a field trip to observe Northern Saw-whet Owl banding in action. Over the course of the evening, fifteen owls were banded and released, and one previously banded owl was recaptured—a record night for BMBS! Participants learned firsthand about this rarely seen, adorable-but-fierce nocturnal predator and how researchers are uncovering more about its migration patterns and habitat needs through careful banding work. All banding, marking, and sampling are conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory.

We’ll be sharing more about this research and the elusive Northern Saw-whet Owl in an upcoming NHPR Something Wild segment and in our regular Forest Journal column in the Union Leader - stay tuned!