Owl
Migration Monitoring:
Owl banding efforts are
targeted at the Northern Saw-whet Owl and Boreal
Owl, using a standardized audio lure technique
promoted by Project Owlnet. This involves playing a
continuous tape loop of calls from a speaker along a
line of eight interconnected mist nets.
The fall season is from late September through early
November, beginning nightly at sunset and continuing
for a minimum of three to four hours. Spring
banding may also take place in late March and April.
Passerine banding:
Songbird banding takes place throughout the year.
The primary emphasis is on migration monitoring,
from April through early June, and again from August
through October. Eighteen 30mm mist nets are
currently in place at MBO. Click
here for an archive of weekly/monthly reports on
banding activities.
Additionally, winter banding is undertaken to study
residency patterns and northern migrants, using a
smaller number of nets around a bird feeding station
on the property. In summer, informal or formal (via
the MAPS program) monitoring of productivity via
banding studies may be pursued, again using a subset
of the migration monitoring nets and/or additional
nets in other locations within the property.
Throughout the year,
banding efforts are supplemented by observations
from along a standardized census route, and
additional incidental sightings recorded throughout
the site during the course of banding and
maintenance activities. |
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Data
collection and analysis:
Standardized methods of data recording are used for recording
both birds and environmental conditions. Items noted for every
bird include age, sex, wing chord, and weight, as well as date,
time, and location of capture within MBO. Banding records are
submitted regularly to the Canadian Bird Banding Office and
Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, and all
station programs proceed in accordance with their guidelines for
operation. All activities at MBO are supervised by at least one
licensed bander.
Students
interested in qualifying for a banding permit will be provided
with training, through activities at the McGill Banding Station
and/or through outside training with the Migration Research
Foundation, Bird Studies Canada, or other qualified
institutions.
Researchers
working at MBO are encouraged to pursue and publish studies
based on the data collected, and to suggest further ways in
which the observatory can contribute to large scale research
efforts. Click here
for more information on past, present, and potential future research topics
under investigation.
Reports:
Reports have been compiled for each season of the migration
monitoring program. These are available in PDF format at the
links below:
MBO Fall Migration Monitoring Program
2006 (PDF, 1.8 MB)
MBO Spring Migration Monitoring Program 2006 (PDF,
1.8 MB)
MBO
Fall Migration Monitoring Program 2005 (PDF, 949 KB)
MBO Spring Migration Monitoring Program 2005 (PDF, 280 KB)
MBO
Fall Migration Monitoring Program 2004 (PDF, 144 KB) |
