Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding Internship
Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership, a 501-C3 nonprofit dedicated to protecting vulnerable bird species and their habitats
Project Description: The internship involves assistance in the operation of the Lambs Knoll Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding Station located on the top of South Mountain in Middletown, Frederick County Md. It is a Maryland Department of Natural Resources owned site. The DNR has provided the banding shed where banding activities take place. The site is off limits to the public and access is controlled by a locked gate.
The banding station is part of a continent-wide monitoring program called Project Owlnet which began in the early 1990’s and is the brainchild of Dave Brinker a wildlife ecologist with Maryland DNR and caretaker of the Lambs Knoll banding station. Project Owlnet has established protocols for the collection of information on the annual migration of Northern Saw-whet Owls. Most of the banding stations in North America follow these guidelines. Information like age structure, population fluctuations and timing of migration have been discovered through these efforts. Long-term monitoring shows trends that may be linked to environmental factors like climate change. Already we have learned that the migration peak has shifted almost an entire week later than it was 40 years ago. New technologies will help us uncover the mysteries of this tiny owl’s migration such as corridors, speed of travel and altitude. Additionally, we hope to identify habitat use during migration which could have significant conservation implications.
The Lambs Knoll banding station is the 3rd station established in Maryland in the late 1990’s and operates from dusk till dawn every night, unless it is raining or very windy. Our goal is to identify important trends in the owl’s migration ecology like peak seasonal movements, times of night and weather influences.
Interns will learn proper net handling techniques, and participate in set up and closure. Owls are lured into mist nets using a game caller which plays the male advertisement call repeatedly at high volume for the entire night. Licensed banders and interns check nets every half hour to hour.
Interns will learn proper bird handling methods and techniques to extract captured owls from the nets. Once secured in transport bags, the owls are taken to the banding station. Interns will gain knowledge and hands-on experience on how to band, weigh, and assess the owl’s health. They will become proficient in the collection of a series of morphometric measurements like wing, tail, foot and beak length, Once completed, the interns will release the owls. Additionally, the intern will collect and record weather conditions at each net check and be responsible for inputting data into various repositories. Interns will gain an understanding of basic ecology of the Northern Saw-whet Owl and how migration monitoring can influence conservation recommendations. Interns will be always accompanied by at least one licensed bander.
conditions, and the recordation of all data. Interns will need to become familiar with the techniques and protocols outlined by Project Owlnet on their website www.projectowlnet.org. Interns will undergo onsite trainings on handling techniques and data recordation.
Interns will be required to enter data into established report forms for the Bird Banding Laboratory, Epicollect and NatureCounts.