Exploring Nature Around Princeton

Saw-whet Owls at The Watershed Institute

By Matthew

Ever since I moved to Princeton from New York City in 2016, I’ve spent a lot of time on the weekends going to different programs about nature and animals with Mercer County Nature Programs, Duke Farms, and The Watershed, where I went to camp last summer.

I recently went to a program at The Watershed that talked about the research being done there on Saw-whet Owls, through a “banding program” that the Watershed’s education director Jeff Hoagland set up with the Wild Bird Research Group’s founder Tyler Christensen, a field biologist who does a lot of interesting nature work in New Jersey.

Banding programs are important because they allow trained scientists to safely capture owls (or birds), measure and record observations, and then place a metal band on their leg, which has a number from the US Geological Survey (USGS), a federal agency that has been coordinating banding programs for over 100 years. Then they release them and track the owls’ migration and learn about them. Anyone who sees a banded bird can report the sighting through www.reportband.gov. The USGS receives over 100,000 bird encounter reports with the band numbers each year.

Since they started this banding program, they discovered that there are more Saw-whet Owls in our state than previously believed. These are the smallest of the owls in New Jersey. Without programs like this, we never would have known there are so many of these small owls in Central New Jersey.

Dodd-Nickles

Look Up More Here

www.wildbirdresearch.org www.thewatershed.org www.projectowlnet.org www.usgs.gov/labs/bird-banding-laboratory

Interesting Places to Spend Time Outside Near Princeton Tyler Christensen Recommends

1. Herrontown Woods Arboretum: Beautiful forest with great birds, plants, and rocks.

2. The towpath in the D&R Canal State Park: Turtles galore, plus lots of other wildlife associated with water.

3. Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve: Lots of great trails to explore.