.jpeg) |
| Photo by Jannaca Chick |
After 18 hours of rain descended on the south coast, the owl banding teams were able to open the nets on night 1 of week #3 under partially cloudy but breezy conditions.
Soon after the nets were opened it didn’t take long until
the first owls were banded at both stations. Rocky Point finished the night banding
27 and Pedder Bay banding 21.
Night 1 of the week also produced a couple of milestones! The
Rocky Point station had the honour of banding the 500th Northern
Saw-whet Owl (NSWO) of its season as well as the 17,000th NSWO banded
at RPBO since the start of the owl banding project 25 years ago (2002)!!
 |
| 500th NSWO of 2026 Photo by Ann Nightingale |
 |
| 17,000th NSWO banded at RPBO. Photo by Ann Nightingale |
With the particularly good start to week #3 of banding and favourable weather conditions forecasted for the next several days it was a hint of things to come. Pedder Bay really kicked into high gear at the end of the week banding more NSWO’s on the last 2 nights of the week than Rocky Point. On the last night, Pedder Bay had the pleasure of banding the 738th owl of RPBO’s 2026 season which surpassed the 2025 total of 737, and we still have 3 more weeks to go!!
 |
| NSWO 738 of 2026. Photo by Taemar Verbaarschot |
Two more Barred Owls (BAOW) were banded at Rocky Point during the week which is a total of 6 at this point in the season. Historically at Rocky Point, on average, for every 50 NSWO’s banded we will also band 1 BAOW. This year we are a little bit behind that average which so far is 72.3 NSWO’s per 1 BAOW. Pedder Bay has yet to band a BAOW although some have been detected around the banding station occasionally.
 |
| Rocky Point BAOW #5 Photo by Mark Byrne |
Visitors to both stations have increased with the word spreading that there are owls to see on a nightly basis. Rocky Point is once again welcoming the Department of National Defence staff and their families to the station during the week. Pedder Bay has been sold out for a long time but occasionally time slots do open due to cancellations so keep checking the RPBO event calendar for availability.
To register to visit the Pedder Bay banding station to experience owl banding please follow this link. https://rpbo.org/what-we-do/community-education/calendar/
Haida Gwaii NSWO (Aegolius acadicus brooksi)
 |
| Haida NSWO Photo by Liam Regan |
The RPBO owl banding teams had the honour of hosting two Stewardship Technicians from the Council of the Haida Nation, Haida Gwaii this week. We have been in communication with them since last year when they expressed an interest in gaining firsthand experience of RPBO’s Owl Monitoring Project.
Haida Gwaii is home to an endemic subspecies of the NSWO and the Haida Nation is keen to gain a better understanding of their unique owls with the hope of possibly establishing a NSWO banding program there.
This week was a wonderful collaboration between
both parties. They got some hands-on experience and a good understanding of
what such a project entails and RPBO is looking forward to assisting the Haida
Nation in developing their own NSWO project in the future.
2026 Favourite Owl Contest
Back by popular demand the banding teams will be selecting their
favourite owls banded during the season and they will be able to be voted for
on the Rocky Point Bird Observatory Facebook page coming soon. In the meantime,
check out recent RPBO posts at https://www.facebook.com/RockyPointBird
 |
| "Miss Zap" 2025 Favourite NSWO Photo by Christina Lam |
Thanks again to all the owl volunteers who have been coming out to the stations fulfilling many roles especially during visitor nights. The owl banding teams really appreciate your commitment to the project.
 |
| New lighting at the Volunteer Experience Centre at Rocky Point. Photo By Mark Byrne |
 |
| A supply of Awake candies delivered by owl bander Katie McCreesh Photo by Mark Byrne |
Long-time volunteer Tania Tripp brought her thermal imagining binoculars to the Pedder Bay station during the week, and in between net checks was able to observe the NSWO’s flying around the net array area. This type of technology is amazing and provides us with more insight into how the owls are interacting with the audio lure we’re playing.
Week #3 ended with a total of 282 NSWO’s banded between
both stations for the week. As of October 5th, 770 total NSWO’S have
been banded at the midpoint in the season.
What will the next milestone be? What will the 2026 season
total be? You’ll have to check back to find out!
Until then …. Toot, Toot, Toot, Toot