Introducing Navarino
Navarino, a beautiful adult female Long-eared Owl.
This is Navarino, our third and final Long-eared Owl to go out with a satellite transmitter this spring. Her transmitter was generously sponsored by Ginger Smith, and she is named for Ginger’s favorite local birding spot, Navarino Wildlife Area in Wisconsin. Navarino is a beautiful adult female with great muscle mass and fat stores, and she weighed in at an impressive 387 grams. It was fun to place her on the scale as we were banding her on a visitor night, see her weight and inform the crowd that they were looking at the owl that was getting the final transmitter of the spring. For those of you who visited the owl banding on May 14, Navarino is the long-eared you saw during your visit. The next night we released her in front of a crowd of some of our local supporters and some of the early arrivals for Birdathon.
Nova ready to release Navarino at the Point on May 15.
We were incredibly excited to see the first map of all three of our tagged Long-eared Owls. It’s amazing to be able to see the travels of even a few of the long-eareds that migrate through Whitefish Point.
Our first map showing the travels of this spring’s three transmittered Long-eared Owls. Paradise (orange), Lil Montana (green) and Navarino (blue).
Navarino’s two local roost locations after being released at the Point.
We’ve been enjoying sharing some details about the local locations that the owls have chosen for roosts during their stays around the Point with our local supporters. The few days after their release may be the only time when we get this kind of local insight. Navarino’s transmitter is on a two-day schedule right now, meaning we are currently finding out her roost locations every other day. After we released her at the Point on May 15, she spent the day on May 17 just north of Wildcat Rd. For those that remember Linda’s house down Wildcat Rd (AKA The OK Corral), the roost was about a tenth of a mile from Linda’s old place. Two days later she was down on Old Wire Rd, effectively roosting in a local backyard.
Once in Ontario, and with Lake Superior no longer serving as a barrier, Navarino headed north covering more than 200 miles over the next two nights. She then continued northwest, ending up near the Albany River west of James Bay roughly 340 miles NNE of the Point on May 25. As Lil Montana did, she then hooked back working her way south from her northern most point.
All three owls will soon go into their summer schedules, which will have much longer intervals between data uploads. This is done to extend battery life during a time when they are expected to be much more sedentary. Paradise is already on that schedule, and Lil Montana & Navarino will soon be entering it. Literally as I was sitting here writing this final paragraph, we received a call from someone sponsoring our first transmitter for next year! Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement with this new research project. It would not be possible without you!