SPRING MIGRATION, what do we know?

As with many of our questions, the answer is.....more study is needed! According to Project Owlnet, spring migration is poorly studied. And so, Ken and the owl monitoring team are making winter/spring efforts more standardized to identify migration timing on the Reserve. So far this year we have seen some new activity near the end of February with 10 new owls so far! Here's what it looks like:
February 25, 2 new owls
February 27, 5 new owls and 1 recap
February 28, 1 recap
March 2, 3 new owls
March 3, 0 owls

Bander Erika Iacona with one of the February 27 owls.

Is this a sign of spring migration? Possible, BUT, this year has been unusual, relative to the past 5 drought years. We have had record rainfalls and snow levels in the Sierra, which may hinder birds from moving to their breeding sites too early.So, we will continue our spring efforts to  enlighten our migration question this year. WAIT FOR IT!