151 (2) Wing Measurement [P] - a photo on Flickriver

The third shot in a series of wild Northern Saw-whet Owls being banded at Pedder Bay, BC. Here, the wing is being measured. A combination of wing measurement and weight will indicate if the individual is a male or female. As with all birds in the raptor world, the females are larger, and except for a rare grey area where there is a cross-over with small females or large males, sex is usually determined.

The experience of watching the volunteers at work and seeing these wonderful owls up close was so memorable, I still can't stop thinking about it. In some ways, photographs just don't cut it. Next time, I think I will try some short videos. The owls are so animated, looking around, blinking and sometimes winking.

We actually arrived at Pedder Bay by late afternoon, and went bush wacking (we could only find deer trails), trying to spot the owls in the daytime. These owls are only 8 inches in length (including the tail), and notoriously hard to find as they roost in the thickest part of a tree. Here on the west coast where trees are often taller than 100 ft, I knew our chances were slim.

As expected, we could not find one, even with the foreknowledge of looking for white pasty excrament streaks down the trees, pellets, 1/2 eaten mice (sometimes these owls will only eat the front 1/2 of a mouse), a pile of Junco feathers (their stomach is so small, they need to pluck most of the feathers off even this small sparrow), and listening for upset Chickadees and Nuthatches (these birds will harry a small owl until they switch location).

I did hear one once. We must have startled it...and in an area with only two large Oak trees. The Oak trees were healthy, had large diameter crowns and were 30 feet tall, but we searched in vain.

As nature hikes go, it was still a family adventure, for the children saw bear scat for the first time, and they found two young deer carcasses. One never knows what one will find when out on an adventure!

(Published June 5, 2018 on the BirdWatching magazine's website with an article I wrote at the following link: www.birdwatchingdaily.com/featured-stories/thrills-saw-wh... )

A shorter article I wrote about the wonderful work the Rocky Point Bird Observatory does, can be viewed at the following link:

August 2018 - Seaside Magazine (pg55), at issuu.com/seasidetimes/docs/seaside0818forweb

A 2 1/2 minute amalgamation of photographs and video clips can be viewed at the following link: youtu.be/XyM90-aqXYE

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs, etc. without my permission.

Taken on: October 1, 2017

Tags:

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Saw-whet Owl

Measuring

Biologist

Pedder Bay

Banding

Bird

Bird Banding

Rocky Point Bird Observatory

Sheri Rypstra « less

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Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T2i, f/1.4, 1/160 sec, 50mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Aperture:	f/1.4
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	50mm
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	sRGB
Show full info

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