For several years now, Tadoussac Bird Observatory has been offering evening programs about our Saw-whet and Boreal owl monitoring program.
Please consult our “An enchanted night with owls” section for more information and to join us.
Monitoring of Boreal and Northern Saw-whet Owls
Since 1996, this program monitors Boreal and Saw-whet Owl populations, the 2 smallest owl species occurring in Quebec. Tadoussac Bird Observatory (TBO) has significantly contributed to enhance knowledge on these little nocturnal owls by collecting data on their reproduction and cycle migratory movements.
Located at our Dunes site, this project takes place each fall from September 7 to October 31.
Laetitia Desbordes
Laetitia Desbordes
A professional team
These nocturnal migratory birds are captured safely using mist nets deployed carefully at sunset. These nets are combined with call systems that reproduce each species’s specific call. Captured birds are then extracted delicately by a team of volunteers trained and lead by a professional bander. In our mobile laboratory, we perform various manipulations, including the installation of aluminum bands, as well as sexing and aging of the birds.
Boreal Owl - Roman Luciani
Boreal Owl - Roman Luciani
A major North American project
This project is especially important in North America as TBO is located on the dispersion route of the Boreal owl, a species rarely observed about which little is known. This owl species usually spends the whole year in the boreal forest and make irruptive* cyclic movements, mostly linked to yearly variation in food abundance.
TBO is also the northernmost station in eastern North America for the Northern Saw-whet owl, which makes it possible to target more efficiently population trends that could be more difficult to discern in the South, due to confounding factors.
*An irruption is a sudden change of a species’ population density, usually in response to varying food availability.
Boreal Owl - Frédérick Lelièvre
Is the Boreal owl in decline?
Only a handful of northern stations can track the Boreal owl’s population trends. Indeed, TBO was the one to confirm the existence of those irruptive cycles in North America, by highlighting the correlation between high migration years and a marked decline in Gapper’s red-backed voles, the Boreal owl’s main prey.
Since 1996, this cycle had been stable, with observable peaks every four years. However, since 2012, the strength of the peak has decreased, and the last anticipated peak did not occurred at all. At this moment, TBO is working with the proper authorities to evaluate if the Boreal owl’s survival is at risk.
Boreal Owl - Frédérick Lelièvre
Member of a North American network
This research program on the Saw-whet and Boreal owl contributed to collect important data that will help to better understand and track these bird’s population status in north-eastern Quebec, about which little is known. In particular, we collect data on the number of individuals, number of juveniles, sex distribution, physical condition, etc.
Moreover, thanks to a extended network of Saw-whet and Boreal owl banding stations (Project Owlnet: Migrant owl research network) across North America, our knowledge of migration patterns of the Northern Saw-whet owl had considerably increased over the last years. TBO also provided a significant contribution by documenting these movements from eastern Quebec with recapture data for nearly 200 birds since 1996.
Recaptures
Banding is an important tool to study bird movements, survival, and behavior. Since 1904, approximately 60 millions of migratory birds from hundreds of species have been banded in North America, and about 4 million bands have been recovered and reported.
Banding data are use in multiple ways: bird population trends, waterfowl-hunting regulation decisions, recovery strategies for species at risk of extinction, impact studies on environmental contaminants. These data are also used in important public health matters such as the avian influenza.
An evening program to learn more about the owls
Vous voulez nous aider ? Devenez bénévole !
Depuis sa création, la poursuite des différents programmes de baguage de passereaux a été possible du fait de l’implication d’un grand nombre de bénévoles.