FALL BANDING 2014 - TROUBLE ON THE BCCER

An unfortunate accident occurred on the BCCER last fall 2013 (see Chico Enterprise Record pic below). Fortunately people recovered from their injuries (I know because I was part of the accident), but concerns about safety have gotten in the way of research on the Reserve. Consequently we had a late start to our owl season, had to move our owl station to a pedestrian accessible site (no driving into the Reserve anymore unless you have a hunting license), and missed many nights of banding. BUT, we jumped some hurdles and persevered. Stay tuned for our results this year, our 10th season of monitoring Northern Saw-whet Owls - the cutest owl on the planet!

Aftermath of the deck collapse off of the caretaker's house. EMT
Cal-fire were there to help all injured, they were very efficient.