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.