On the other hand…
Things were ‘miserably slow in western Maryland’
SkyTop in NE Penna claimed ‘worst season ever’
There was A LOT of reading, and napping, and card-playing and general twiddling of
fingers at Hidden Valley, PA
On 11/3 West Chester NY had only 3 owls, compared to 26 last
year at that same time
Greene County Indiana had the “Slowest season so far” (18)
WoodRiver NE, with a total of 11, reported ‘very poor capture
rate’
Western VA reported only 61 for the season, less than half of
total in past two years
This year’s migration appears simply to have stopped for most
of the saw-whets somewhere north of our banding sites
Migration is essentially about finding food, and
Perhaps mild weather, and high prey populations in the north
kept the owls out of reach this year (several banders reported more
birds with above-average weights)