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| Northern Saw-whet Owl |
The
Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO) is listed as a
threatened species in North Carolina and
Tennessee, and is an uncommon encounter at
Big Bald. NSWO have been documented at Big
Bald through incidental diurnal capture in
passerine mist nets at Big Bald Banding
Station since the autumn of 2003. Data
gathered by banding NSWO systematically
since 2005 helped motivate the Cherokee
National Forest to install owl nest boxes on
the northern flanks of Big Bald in 2006.
In 2010, Southern Appalachian Raptor
Research (SARR) was awarded grants through
the Tennessee Ornithological
Society and the Appalachian Trail
Conservancy (NC License Plate Grant
Program) to fund NSWO monitoring at Big
Bald. Using radio-telemetry, SARR tracked
owl movements and documented NSWO breeding
in the Big Bald Mountain habitat during
2011.
Click here
to view the NSWO progress report to the
Tennessee Ornithological Society.
NSWO with radio transmitter
attached
Juvenile
NWSO captured July 2011 at Big Bald
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