Monday I got dispatched to a forest fire along the AB/BC border close to Hamburg. This fire was classified as being held at 1000 hectares, it originally started in BC and works its way into Alberta. I spent sometime looking around at the habitat around this fire and it consisted of mostly upland sites with the vast majority of the tree species being mainly Lodgepole Pine and Trembling Aspen. From what I've read and understood Boreal Owls prefer older growth Spruce and Aspen for cover and nest sites.
I setup a net with two of my co-workers and tried calling for Saw-whet Owls for 30 mins. After the first net check and zero owls in the net we switched over to the Boreal call. The next net check yielded 4 Boreal Owls.
After banding the first 4 birds we checked again and low and behold another 2 Boreals were in the net! I caught Boreal Owls before but never in good numbers. The weather began to switch with the winds picking up and rain showers so we closed up for the night.
Hi there. Just reading your posting regards not having any luck in netting in Saw-Whet Owl. I live in Toronto, Ontario, and this past Friday, my wife and I came upon an adult Saw-Whet Owl out in the bush. This was the first time as birders that we had ever seen a Saw-Whet Owl. Fortunately, we had our camera with us and got some good pictures and video. We have posted them for anyone interested at: http://frametoframe.ca/photo-essay-northern-saw-whet-owl-sighting
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