Saw-whet Owl banding at Connecticut Hill has begun, and members of the public are invited to come see these cute little creatures up close. Banding is scheduled for Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays through mid November, starting 1.5 hours after sunset for about four hours (approx 7:30-11:30pm, with a shift after the November time change). To avoid stressing the birds too much we are limiting visitor numbers, so please sign up on this spreadsheet if you're interested in attending. All sessions are subject to weather cancellation (from rain or wind), so check the spreadsheet before coming out: cancellations will be highlighted in red.
Directions from Ithaca: Take 13 South. One mile after the split with 34/96, turn right onto Millard Hill Road. Follow Millard Hill Road for 3.7 miles to the stop sign at Trumbull Corners. 1000 feet after the stop sign, turn left onto Connecticut Hill Road. Continue 1.2 miles to a four way junction where the main road curves to the right. Go straight on Boylan Road (a slightly narrower unpaved road) for 1.5 miles. When you see a white sign, slow down, as the final 0.5 miles is somewhat rough. here the road ends at a T is the location of the banding desk.
What to expect Starting 1.5 hours after sunset, the crew will check the nets every 45 minutes (the public will not be visiting the nets). Net check times are shown in the spreadsheet. The nets are a 10 minute walk away, so expect the banding desk to be possibly unattended for about 10 minutes before and after a net check (a longer delay hopefully means the crew is busy extracting owls from the net). Owl activity is of course unpredictable, and there is no guarantee we will catch any on a given night or net check. But generally, activity tends to pick up during the later net checks.
Guidelines You should have a headlamp or flashlight to help navigate in the dark, but be prepared to turn them off when the owls are processed, as they are sensitive to bright light. Many modern LED lights are especially bright. Expect to stand around for long periods of time in the cold, so dress appropriately. Bring a chair if you want to sit.
Donations accepted The fledgling Finger Lakes Bird Observatory would like to thank the Cayuga Bird Club for funding the purchase of equipment, and the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory for administrative and logistical support. Ongoing operations remain self-funded, and donations are accepted either in cash or via Venmo to @Bumminghird
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