Banding Saw-Whet Owls at Ipswich River October 29, 2010

Norman Smith's work studying and banding snowy owls has been well publicized, but he has also been conducting ongoing research on saw-whet owls for over 16 years. This is the time of year when saw-whet owls migrate through our area, sometimes in surprisingly large numbers. Norman will give a slide presentation on the native owls of Massachusetts, talk about his research project, and explain why he is banding these diminutive birds of prey. Then we'll go outside where we have set up mist nets to try to capture migrating saw-whets. Over the course of the evening, we hope to get a close-up look at one or more of these birds and observe the process as Norman bands them, takes measurements, and makes other notations for his research before releasing them. Registration is required. Call 978-887-9264 for details. See http://www.massaudubon.org/catalog/listing.php?program_code=661-IP10FA1 for more information.