From Iowa Raptor Project
Look whoo’s migrating through? Here is the first Northern Saw-whet Owl that we’ve banded this fall on 10/19. (We heard our first one on 10/16.) This bird was a female that hatched this year.
Want to get a first-hand experience into our research on this rarely encountered lowa owl? Come join us! There are 5 spots open for Halloween night and 3 spots open for 11/7.
Anyone who wants the opportunity to handle a Saw Whet, here’s your chance!
❤️ If I lived in Iowa, I might take them up on this!
Are Saw Whet females bigger than males like some other owl species? Or are they about the same size?
I went to one banding event here, but I think it was late in the season and they didn’t catch anything. It was more a family event though and they had ambassador animals there for us at least, and s’mores!
Yup, there is still the typical sexual dimorphism in size. Males are around 75g and females 100g. That matches the typical 20ish percent difference among most raptor species.