[TN-Bird] Saw-whet Owl banding effort begins
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TN-birds" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 21:37:07 -0500
TN-Birders:
On Saturday night we opened our first-ever Northern Saw-whet Owl banding
station near Musick's Campground at South Holston Lake, about 1/2 mile south
of the Virginia line in Tennessee. This is east of Bristol in Sullivan Co.
After
two nights of effort, we still have not caught a Saw-whet. We were up and
running
Saturday and Sunday nights.
In 1995 we captured and banded one bird in one night of operation about 20
miles south at Johnson City in Washington Co., so we have a tiny bit of
success under our belt.
We still have visions of Saw-whets dancing thru our heads and we are
encouraged to
think that the next two weeks will bring us the peak.
When Clair Mellinger body-slamed and banded 21 Saw-whets in Virginia
northeast of us Saturday as the moon grew dark, we were encouraged the flood
doors being open might swamp us with birds. We are discouraged but not
defeated.
Mellinger, of Harrisonburg, VA, had a very slow start to the fall migration
of saw-whet owls at his station in Rockingham County, VA until someone
opened the door Saturday night and let the owls out. Throughout the region
(MD,WV) they had a good influx of owls. Before Saturday night, in
Rockingham County, Mellinger had banded less than 20 owls. Saturday night
they had 21 before midnight. Perhaps the cold front, the colder
temperatures, or the
lunar eclipse (!) brought them down. Who knows.
We truly enjoyed operating our nets and station under the eclipse. We are
especially grateful to the Tennessee Valley Authority and their staffers
Bucky Edmondson and Hill Henry who have worked hard to help us get up and
running. TVA Police Officer Jeff Johnson surprised us late Sunday when he
checked in on us during his patrol rounds. They are out there getting their
good police work done !
Those helping with the station have been Rack Cross, Don Holt, Virgil Carr,
Sammy Cross, Richard Lewis, Wallace Coffey, Rick Knight, Carol Cross and
Larry McDaniel.
Let's go owling......
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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