BAHS Students visit Shady Valley Owl-Banding Station

BAHS students Keara Drummer, Jackie Formosa, Jessica Paoletti, Victoria Roper, Matt Srednicki, and Dr. Clay Corbin visited the Shady Valley saw-whet owl banding station near Halifax, PA in mid-October. Working at this station are Sandy and Gary Lockerman (Sandy is a federally permitted bird bander) and Kerri Milliken (a MLIS student at Penn State - Harrisburg). Saw-whets are currently migrating to (and through) PA. In the late Winter and early Spring, they will return North for breeding.  Capturing, measuring, and banding these birds are crucial activities for learning their biology and conservation.

Sandy Lockerman is one bander who helps run the station.  She has been banding birds (including thousands of owls and hummingbirds) for over 20 years.  The Shady Valley station is part of the Northern Saw-whet owl research program supported by the Ned Smith Center for Art and Nature in Millersburg, PA. Since 1997, the Center has been a leader in Northern Saw-whet Owl research in Pennsylvania and is a part of a larger network of over 100 similar banding stations across the country. 


The owls are banded and measured using a number of tools. Some including UV light help determine the age and sex of the owl. Porphyrin deposits in wing feathers shine magenta under UV light.  These florescent properties degrade over time. Hence, the degree of glow gives clues to the age of a captured owl. The photo of the adult saw-whet shows a mix of old (un-molted and hence, faded) and new (brightly fluorescing) feathers. We know this owl is at least 2 years old. 



An adult female Northern Saw-whet Owl



L to R…Jessica Paoletti, Sandy Lockerman, Victoria Roper, Keara Drummer, Jackie Formosa, Matt Srednicki, Gary Lockerman, Clay Corbin. (photo by Kerri Milliken)


Matt Srednicki (on the left; a BU pre-PA student and owl researcher) is seen here writing down records for Sandy (right) while she bands.


A saw-whet next to color standards.  Currently, the saw-whet team is studying eye color to determine if it is a reliable predictor of age in these owls. 

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