Owls, Elk, Bears and Cougar .... Oh My!

With only 5 nights left in the 2026 RPBO Nocturnal Owl season, night 1 (October 27th) turned out to be a soggy affair with the nets at both stations being closed after a couple of hours due to torrential rains that continued through until the next morning however Rocky Point did manage to capture and band a hatch-year BAOW just before the rain started. This also allowed the banding team to deploy the last Cellular Tracking Technologies (CTT) Blūbat tag on the owl now known as Rocky 4. With 5 tags deployed (Rocky 1,2,3 & 4 and Pedder 1) on BAOW’s, the banding team consensus is that the tags are working well beyond expectations. 

Blūbat tag deployed on Rocky 4 and ready for release
Photo by Heather Tocher

Blūbat tag locations and movement of 5 hatch-year Barred Owls
Photo by Mark Byrne

Night 2 (October 28th) would see a couple more season milestones and the Rocky Point station would claim both on this night. After the 3rd owl of the night was banded, the combined season total at that point reached 1253 NSWOs which also meant that 2026 is the 3rd busiest season (surpassing 2024 which had a total of 1252).

A few more owls later and Rocky Point’s #700 NSWO of the season was banded.

Rocky Point's #700th NSWO of 2026
Photo by Ann Nightingale

At the end of the night the NSWO’s banded to date would be 1264 with 3 more nights left in the season. The question was, could we reach 1300??

Night 3 (October 29th) began with mixed weather conditions and a few very light sprinkles of rain but as the night progressed the weather cleared up. On the way into the banding station the team was greeted by a black bear as well a large group of Roosevelt Elk which included two bulls with very large antler racks.

Black Bear going the right direction
Photo by Robyn Byrne

Male Roosevelt Elk
Photo by Robyn Byrne

Rocky Point captured and banded another BAOW, and this one turned out to be a beautiful second-year male. Being an adult that has possibly established territory near the banding station, this owl was released on site at the end of the night.

Second-year (SY) Barred Owl ready for release
Photo by Robyn Byrne

Dorsal (top wing) of SY Barred Owl

Ventral (Underside wing) of SY Barred Owl under black light
Photo by Robyn Byrne

The second NSWO foreign recapture (banded at another banding station) of the season was processed at Rocky Point, and the banding teams began sleuthing to find out where this owl was from.

Foreign recpature from Cobble Hill
Photo by Mark Byrne

The data for this hatch-year male was submitted into the U.S.G.S. banding portal and as expected, it came back with a negative result meaning the bander han’t yet submitted their data for the season. Jannaca eventually received confirmation that the owl was banded in Cobble Hill on October 7, 2026, by Andy Stewart who used to volunteer with RPBO many years ago.

Rocky Point would finish the night with 6 NSWO’s banded while Pedder Bay only managed to band 3. Pedder Bay also discovered just after net opening that there were indications of a cougar hunting for deer in an area just beyond the station.   

Night 4 (October 30th) had perfect crisp cold and clear conditions, and the teams were excited for the possibility of a busy night of owls. Even with the favourable weather conditions the owls just didn’t seem to be around on this night and Pedder Bay ended the evening banding 4 owls while Rocky Point only banded 2.

Tania brought her thermal binoculars with her to the station and while monitoring the net lanes at Pedder Bay she managed to capture some video clips of a cougar walking along a ridge behind the banding station looking for deer. This probably was the first ever confirmed sighting of a cougar by a RPBO owl team. Thanks Tania!!

Halloween night decorations at Pedder Bay. Pumpkin by Tae (wink, wink)
Photo by Mark Byrne

Night 5 (October 31st) the banding teams were not optimistic of banding 21 owls to reach the 1300 mark for the season. Being as it was the last night of the season, the banding teams went to work packing up the banding equipment and getting ready to take the nets down after the last net check.

Slowly, each station began to report that they were banding more NSWOs than they had the previous several nights. Could 1300 be reached? At the end of the night when the final bell rang to check and close the nets, Rocky Point had banded a total of 10 for the night and Pedder Bay ended up with 5, bringing the season total to 1294, just shy of the 1300! 

#1294 - The last NSWO of 2026
Photo by Ann Nightingale

At 00:25 on Nov 1st the 2026 Rocky Point Bird Observatory Nocturnal Owl Project concluded.  A total of 1294 NSWOs were banded, 61 previously banded RPBO NSWOs were recaptured, 2 foreign NSWOs were captured, 15 BAOWs were banded (5 with Blūbat tags), and 1 Long-eared Owl was banded. 

A total of 620 visitors came to see owl banding at the stations and hopefully left with a greater understanding of the owls and the research that Rocky Point Bird Observatory has been doing for the past 25 years.

There’s just one last thing to do to conclude the 2026 owl season and that is selecting the 2026 Favourite Owl! Stay tuned to social media, our website, and emails as we will be posting the link to the contest soon. This is where our owl fans (yes, you!) get a chance to vote for their favourite owl of 2026.  

Congratulations to banders Jannaca Chick and Mark Byrne, relief banders Ann Nightingale and Robyn Byrne and Project Coordinator Mike Motek on another wonderful season. 

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers that were able to share their time with the owl teams. RPBO volunteers contributed over 2,345 hours this season and their dedication and support of this project is truly amazing.  We couldn’t have done it without you!

Until the 2027 Rocky Point Bird Observatory Nocturnal Owl Project begins, we hope everyone stays safe and happy and we hope to see you again next season.

Weathering Out The Owls

Photo by Robyn Byrne

The final full week of owl banding began with hopes that the steady migration of NSWO’s would continue right to the end of the month but this week we started to see a change in the weather patterns with increasing winds and rain occurring.

RPBO has 3 remaining Cellular Tracking Technologies (CTT) Blūbat tags to deploy on BAOW’s. On night 1 of Week 6, Pedder Bay was able to use one when a BAOW captured and banded prior to the visitors arriving at the station. 

Pedder 1 with Blūbat tag ready for release
Photo by Ann Nightingale

Cupcakes made by volunteer Anna
Photo by Ann Nightingale

After banding double digits of NWSO's for the first 2 nights, both stations experienced a sudden decrease in NSWO’s even though night 4 had perfect colder and calm conditions. The banding teams were thankful for their battery-powered vests, socks and handwarmers! Forecasted heavy rain on night 5 resulted in the cancellation of banding altogether before the volunteers and visitors arrived.

All week at Rocky Point BAOW(s) have been seen around the net lanes nightly and even managed to get caught in the nets a few times only to escape before the extractors were able to capture it. There is a sense of urgency to deploy the remaining Blūbat tags before the end of the season because the batteries only last for about 18 months once activated.

The elusive Barred Owl at Rocky Point
Photo by Mark Byrne

A windy night 6 surprisingly produced a few owls to band and to round out the week on night 7 both stations banded 5 owls each. The wind does create a bit of a problem as the net does get tangled in the bells that we deploy on the trammel lines. One of our volunteers that night (thanks Craig) suggested some sort of disk to shield the bells from the net and so the team went to work to fabricate protoypes using my thermos cup as the template and empty hand warmer carbobard boxes.

Fishing bell wind screen. Easy Peasey!
Photo by Mark Byrne

While walking into the station on night 7, the team at Rocky Point were able to watch a Short-eared Owl (SEOW) hunting for about 5 minutes in the nearby meadow. Catching a SEOW would be a first for RPBO, but it wouldn’t happen on this night nor would we capture a BAOW as it also didn’t come near the net lanes. 

Short-eared Owl flies by the Rocky Point banding team at dusk
Photo by Mark Byrne

Rocky Point finished the week with only 49 NSWO’s banded while Pedder Bay banded 40. Quite a difference in numbers from the previous 5 weeks.Throughout the week the banding teams have been monitoring hatch-year BAOW’s Rocky 1,2 & 3 along with Pedder 1 - the owls with the Blūbat tags. 

It’s been amazing to follow their movements using the Cellular Tracking Technologies app which provides real time locations for all the owls that have been deployed around Victoria. Video created by Ann Nightingale.

The banding teams did surpass the 1200th NSWO for this season and as of the end of week 6, 1251 NSWO’s had been banded.  So far, this is the fourth highest annual total since the project started in 2001 (25 years ago). In 2024, 1252 NSWO's were banded so all we need this season is 2 more NSWO’s! Next week will be the final post of the 2026 RPBO After Dark blog so check back soon to see how the season finished up.

Where Hoo Hoo's Travel?

"Helllooo"
Photo by Jannaca Chick

With only a few more weeks to go in the 2026 Owl season the banding teams were wondering if the early surge of owls banded at each station would continue at the pace of the previous 4 weeks or would there be a decrease in the numbers.

The first couple of nights of the week produced lower numbers than expected with both Rocky Point and Pedder Bay only banding 3 owls each on night 1 followed by night 2 only producing 9 at Rocky Point and 8 at Pedder Bay. Even though it was quiet in terms of owls, Jannaca hosted a film crew at Pedder Bay for both days who are working on a documentary that will be called Owl Atlas. This documentary will include NSWO banded during RPBO's Nocturnal Owl Monitoring and also a look into how birds migrate using quantum mechanics - a fascinating subject!

Owl Atlas documentary film crew at Pedder Bay.
Photo by Martha Burd

Things started to get interesting as the rest of the week progressed. Night 3 experienced an increase in the owls banded as well as an increase in the presence of BAOW’s at both stations. Rocky Point caught the first foreign NSWO recapture of the season, a hatch year female, and it was a few days before we were able to find out where the owl was originally banded.

Where did you come from??
Photo by Mark Byrne

Already banded but by who??
Photo by Mark Byrne

Night 4 of the week was a little slow in terms of the number of NSOW being banded however it wasn’t long for the owl banders group chat to go crazy! Over at Rocky Point the first owl of the night wasn’t a NSWO, it was a magnificent hatch year female Long-Eared Owl (LEOW) captured just after net opening. RPBO doesn’t band many of these beautiful owls, in fact this was only the 9th LEOW on record. Here is Jannaca Chick's report (Owl Bander in Charge)

Long-eared Owl
Photo by Josh McCallum

Imagine our surprise on the night of October 16 at 19:30, when we discovered a Long-eared Owl (LEOW) in net 4 at Rocky Point! She was our first owl of the night, a beautiful hatch-year female. These owls always have a look of great surprise on their faces due to their large button-like bright yellow eyes. We always take care to minimize stress and process all our birds quickly and release them safely. The responsibility of the bander is the care and safety of each individual owl we band.

Preparing to weigh the Long-eared Owl
Photo by Deanna Ferguson

Aging the LEOW
Photo by Ann Nightingale

Aging the LEOW with a black light
Photo by Josh McCallum

These mysterious owls are not generally found in our mist nets during our 6 weeks of Nocturnal Owl Monitoring. Little is known about them across the continent, their population, movements and breeding habits, because they are nocturnal and so difficult to even find. Here on Vancouver Island, we do not know if they even breed here, what the population might be, literally next to nothing!

In 2020 we conducted a trial study to capture LEOW’s, link here: RPBO LEOW Project. We made efforts on several occasions to net these owls using LEOW playback and erected mist nets in the meadow adjacent to the Rocky Point banding station. Interestingly, we captured 3 LEOW that season, but all were caught passively during our regular NSWO banding hours, and not during our targeted project!

Preparing to take measurements
Photo by Deanna Ferguson

Since 2020 we have caught one LEOW every year during our standard operating hours except for 2023. These owls have occasionally been sighted by birders during the winter months in the Greater Victoria area. This leads us to suspect that there could be a population of LEOW present on Vancouver Island. More study is needed!

An exciting start to the night over at Rocky Point but it gets even better!!! The next owl caught also wasn’t a NSWO but one of two HY BAOW’s.  These two BAOW’s would be part of a groundbreaking project that RPBO began that night. Acting on a hunch, Jannaca requested Ann Nightingale to be on hand that evening to provide training on applying a very special trackable band to the HY BAOW’s and they just happened to be caught while she was there! 

Here is Ann Nightingale’s Blūbat report.

All bird banding in Canada requires a federal permit. The owls we band at Rocky Point Bird Observatory also require provincial permits. If the project requires putting on additional gear, taking blood or feather samples, or moving wildlife, specific authorizations must be obtained. This can all be a very time-consuming process.

USGS Band on the right leg, Cellular Tracking Technologies Blūbat tag on the left leg.
Photo by Ann Nightingale

Last year when Blūbat tags on Monarch butterflies were making the headlines, we realized that this new Cellular Tracking Technologies tag (essentially an air tag for wildlife) was exactly what we were looking for to do a Barred Owl study. Instead of relying on dedicated towers like Motus does, the signals of the Blūbat tags are picked up on cellphones, providing a near real-time location for tagged owls. 

For many years, RPBO has had the permits required to move young Barred Owls away from our net arrays once they have tried to prey upon the Northern Saw-whet Owls we are banding. Over the years, we have learned the outcomes of many of them when they have been found dead or injured, or occasionally when they are seen alive, such as a banded pair breeding at the Ross Bay Cemetery. 

BAOW (Blūbat tag - Rocky 1) ready for deployment.
Photo by Ann Nightingale

Blūbat technology is available in a leg band form for use on birds. These bands could allow us to follow our relocated Barred Owls so we can assess how far they travel, if they survive their first year (most Barred Owls don’t), and maybe even how successfully they find mates. This week, the technology, the permits, and the Barred Owls all converged. RPBO deployed the first Blūbat leg bands in Canada on two individuals (Rocky 1 & Rocky 2) that night before the owls were moved to their release locations. The early results kept the owl banding team up when they should have been asleep! 

The owls all immediately left their release points, as was expected once they were set free. The distance they travelled varied, with two staying in nearby neighbourhoods while they got their bearings. Over the next day, they slept, checked out the habitat and presumably hunted and fed. After a couple of nights, they seem to have settled in. Time will tell if they stay in these areas or move on. 

Blūbat tag live tracking of Rocky 1, 2 & 3

We have three more tags to deploy, hopefully before the end of our season on October 31.

On night 5 of the week both stations experienced another surge of NSWO’s being banded with 25 at Rocky Point and 21 at Pedder Bay. It was Blūbat training night for me, and Ann once again came out to Rocky Point to provide the necessary training required on my permit to apply this type of band.

BAOW (Blūbat tag - Rocky 3) being applied.
Photo by Anne Cotter

It didn’t take long for my training to be put into action as the first owl of the night was another HY BAOW and it was successfully deployed and called Rocky 3. As Ann mentioned previously, the banding team have been constantly monitoring the progress of each of the Blūbat-tagged BAOW’s to see how the technology is working and where the owls are exploring from their release points. It's an amazing way to research the movement of these large owls.

In all the excitement of the night at both stations, we forgot to keep track of the next milestone of the season and missed taking a photograph of NSWO #1,100!   

The last couple of nights of the week saw the numbers starting to drop again with Rocky Point banding 13 owls on night 6 and Pedder Bay with 12 owls. Pedder Bay’s last owl of the evening was #500 for the station this year and yes ….. we got its photo! LOL

500th NSWO banded at Pedder Bay for the season.
Photo by Josh McCallum

On the final night of week 5, Pedder Bay more than doubled the number of owls banded at Rocky Point (7) with 16 with all the visitors seeing many owls. Both stations are also starting to capture more “older” owls with several recaptures of the age of 4 years (banded in 2023 as HY) as well as more known 3 year (TY) and several owls of unknown age commonly called After Second Year or ASY.

Great news from afar though while I was at Rocky Point. After Jannaca spent several days of checking with various BC and WA banding locations, the USGS Bird Banding Lab sent an email confirming that the foreign recaptured NSOW from night 3 (October 15th) was banded on September 13, 2026, at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory (LSLBO) in Alberta! Travelling 991 km as the owl flies or approximately 1,373 km driving or owl wandering in 33 days the owl was recaptured on October 15, 2026!

Confirmation from the U.S.G.S of the foreign recapture
Photo by Mark Byrne

Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory in relation to Rocky Point Bird Observatory

Another amazing week of owls at RPBO and there’s more to come so check back next week.

Owls By The Hundreds!

Week 4 of NSWO banding began with the Pedder Bay station continuing at the same pace from the previous week banding 16 owls compared to 9 owls at Rocky Point and for the 3rd consecutive night of showing that “Pedder is Better”! Typically, Rocky Point bands more owls on a nightly basis than Pedder Bay but that was not the case over the last several days. 

Photo by Sultana Majid

Although Rocky Point tried to get back on track on the second night, both stations were banding the same number of owls right up to net closing at 01:10am when each station banded their 26th owl of the night for a total of 52 owls banded.

Pedder Bay banded the 800th NSWO of the season at 8:10pm and 3 hours later that same owl was recaptured at 11:10pm at Rocky Point traveling the 3.8 kilometres as the owl flies (see what I did there??!!!). Nightly cross-station recaptures happen a few times a week but having the #800 owl visit both stations was a highlight for the banding teams.

2026 NSWO #800 at Pedder Bay
Photo by Jannaca Chick

2026 NSWO #800 Recaptured at Rocky Point
Photo by Mark Byrne

Visitors to the Rocky Point station continued with 9 DND staff and family members who had never been to the banding station before. While they were being escorted to the banding station by a RPBO liaison, the first NSWO was already waiting for them and several more were banded during their visit. The visitors all left the station with a greater understanding and appreciation of the research that RPBO is undertaking at CFAD Rocky Point.

DND Visitors observing Mark banding at Rocky Point
Photo by Taemar Verbaarschot 

Thanks to Owl Project Coordinator Mike Motek and the RPBO visitor liaisons for coordinating the visits for the DND staff and families to the Rocky Point banding station. It is an honour for the banding teams to welcome those who are serving with Canadian Armed Forces.

A simple fact ….. owls (and a lot of other birds) do not like to fly in the wind. The afternoon of the third night produced significant windy conditions leading up to the owl banding teams reporting for their shifts. With a full slate of VIP visitors at Pedder Bay and DND staff and their families at Rocky Point on the schedule the banding teams decided at the very least it was a wonderful opportunity to conduct an educational session.

To everyone’s surprise, even with the wind, a couple of owls were banded at Rocky Point and the DND visitors once again went home happy. Over at Pedder Bay, luck was not on their side, but I was prepared to entertain the 14 visitors by showing them a RPBO Owl Project slideshow on my iPad. I have found this visual aid has been valuable in the past, especially on nights when there have not been any owls being banded. Although the banding team and visitors were hoping that at least 1 owl might venture into our nets, it just did not happen.

However, spending just under a couple of hours with the visitors was the perfect way to introduce them to the research that RPBO does and not just talk about the owls but also talk about birds in general. On this night, it may have been my most engaging night of sharing bird knowledge with any group that I have had visit the stations and they never even saw an owl being banded! 

The winds did start to diminish near midnight, and Rocky Point ended up banding 6 owls and Pedder Bay finally banded an owl at 12:10am to keep Pedder Bay from recording a zero night of owls.

Diminishing winds on night 4 resulted in another 18 owls banded at Rocky Point and 10 at Pedder Bay indicating both stations were getting back on track with the consistent movement of owls coming through the area. It was the final night of the week for DND visitors to Rocky Point and all experienced the joy of seeing owls being banded at the station.

 

Jannaca banding at Pedder Bay
Photo by Heather Tocher

The next night had perfect conditions of cold, clear weather and no moonlight and the owls did not disappoint the banding teams. Pedder Bay had 33 visitors who saw NSWO’s being banded as well as the first BAOW of the season for the station.

Jannaca and Hitomi banding a Barred Owl at Pedder Bay

 

Weighing the Barred Owl
Photo by Amalis Riera

Preparing to band the Barred Owl
Photo By Amalis Riera

Pedder Bay finished the night with 16 NSWO’s and 1 BAOW while Rocky Point banded 37 NSWO owls including owl #900 of the season!

2026 NSWO #900 at Rocky Point
Photo by Mark Byrne

Both teams were delighted to hear that a NSWO banded at Pedder Bay on October 6th by Ann was recaptured by Jamie Acker and Daniel Lipinski on Bainbridge Island WA, 3 nights later. It’s always exciting to hear about RPBO owls being recaptured and with the number of owls banded at this point in the season we have been waiting for news of where the RPBO owls are travelling. 

The following night yet another NSWO was recaptured by Jamie and Daniel on Bainbridge Island! This owl, banded by myself on October 8th at Rocky Point, was recaptured on October 11th also taking only 3 nights to reach the Bainbridge Island location.

Rocky Point NSWO recaptured at Banibridge Island WA on October 11th
Photo by Jamie Acker

Rocky Point banded 23 owls and had a season high of 5 recaptures, 2 of which were banded in 2024 at Rocky Point as SY making them 4 years old.

Dorsal (top of wing) of a known 4th year NSWO

Ventral (bottom of wing) of the 4th year NSWO under blacklight

Pedder Bay kept up to Rocky Point once again banding 22 owls. At the end of the night the season total reached 978 NSWO’s banded for the season with only 22 more needed to reach the milestone of 1000.

On the last night of the week the banding teams were optimistic that the 1000th NSWO of the season would be banded. The question was, which station would capture that honour?

With only 22 owls needed to reach 1000, both stations experienced a slower night compared to the previous nights. As each hour went by it did not look promising but just before midnight the countdown of the last 5 owls needed began and each new owl banded had its photo taken just in case.

At 23:40 Pedder Bay claimed #999 and then at 23:55 they also claimed #1000 with a couple of visitors from earlier in the night still on hand to experience the milestone.

2026 NSWO #1000 at Pedder Bay
Photo by Mark Byrne

Rocky Point finished the night with 14 NSWO and 133 for week while Pedder Bay ended the night with 11 NSWO and 102 for the week.

With just over 2 weeks to go in the 2026 season the season total is 1003 NSWO’s banded and 8 BAOW’s banded.

The question now is ….. what will the next 19 nights produce?? Check back soon to find out!