Small enough to sit in your hand, the Northern Saw-whet Owl is an elusive, nomadic species that nests far to our north. However, it is known to migrate between its summer and winter habitats through our region in the late fall and early winter.

On Friday, November 5 at 7:00 pm come meet two local naturalists from Kestrel’s staff and board who have banded these forest owls as part of a national network of scientists and other practitioners working to better understand owls’ migration and other habits.

Chris Volonte and Anthony Hill will share what they have learned and what other scientists have discovered about this mysterious little predator. They will explain the bird banding process and equipment, and using an owl-call audio, they will attempt to capture night-migrating saw-whet owls as they pass over the Mt. Holyoke Range. While these owls do not migrate through our area in a consistent way like many songbirds and birds of prey, they are an occasional visitor. If any owls are successfully caught, you’ll observe how they are carefully weighed, measured, tagged, and released back to the wild.

Enjoy warm beverages and light snacks during the program. And, please note:

• These owls are wild and their movements are known to be unpredictable, so there is no guarantee we’ll catch one on the night of this event.
• The demonstration will be cancelled in the event of rain or very high winds (alternate weather date is Saturday, November 6). Please be prepared to attend on either day.