Although Northern Saw-whet Owls were suspected to occur in Ashe County, North Carolina, the species was not officially documented until we captured and banded two (above) on 06 Nov 2024 at  Hilton Pond North.

The night of 06 November 2024 was perfect for deploying owl nets at Hilton Pond North: Overcast with little moonlight, no wind, and balmy temperatures that didn't freeze the bander during repeated 30-minute net checks. We deployed four nets by 8 p.m. and started the endless loop owl call, including two new recordings just received from fellow bander Bob Mulvihill of Pittsburgh. (Thanks, Bob!) We must have been doing something right: The 10 p.m. check revealed a softball-sized clump of soft feathers in one of the nets. They happened to be attached to a Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO)!

Northern Saw-whet Owls were actually the target species for our nocturnal mist netting, although the night before we had snared a somewhat larger Eastern Screech-Owl--a species that nests locally (see photo below). Saw-whets, however, breed primarily in the northern and western U.S. and boreal forests of Canada and during some autumns migrate in large numbers across the contiguous U.S. (There's also an apparent year-round resident population at higher elevations in the southern Appalachians—possibly not far from here in Grayson County, Virginia.)

NSWO are indeed tiny, barely the size of one's palm (see photo with bander's hand for scale). Because they're quite secretive and typically silent on wintering grounds they're probably more common than birders realize. Playing a monotonous "toot-toot-toot" audio lure draws them out and makes them easier to see and catch.

After capturing the 10 p.m. saw-whet we carried it into our banding office for measurements and photographs. Based on wing size and weight, we determined our first capture was a female. (Males are smaller by as much as a third.) Using a black light to look for a hint of pink on "glow-under-UV" feathers, we further found this owl was a youngster hatched sometime this year.

Within an hour of banding and releasing this first saw-whet we were pleased to capture a second female NSWO--an adult produced sometime before 2024. Wow! Two in one night!

These two Northern Saw-whet Owls were significant because they are the first fully documented record for the species in Ashe County NC. (Four eBird records apparently lack photographic evidence, sound recordings, or a specimen.) Thus, our nighttime work has already proved valuable in learning something new about birds in this part of the Blue Ridge—ample incentive for us to continue our banding work at Hilton Pond North in upper Ashe County NC.

Gray-phase Eastern Screech-Owl (above) captured incidentally, banded, and released on 5 November 2024 at Hilton Pond North during a project to study Northern Saw-whet Owls.