The Paul Smiths College Visitor Interpretive Center’s Saw Whet Owl Banding Station

The Paul Smiths College Visitor Interpretive Center Saw Whet Owl Banding Station will begin on 14th of September and run through to the 4th of November. The station will be open to the public on a first come first serve basis starting 1 October and running through to the end of the season. We start at sunset each night and people do need to register in advance, we will not take unannounced walk ins. The cost for a night is $10.00 per student on owl nights (the Saturdays from 5:00 through 11:00 PM of October) and $20.00 for adults. On these days we will bring in owls and do presentations about each owl before the station is opened.

During the rest of the month of October, if people wish to be part of the banding team and get a more personal experience it is $50.00. We start on those nights at sunset and run till 11:00 PM unless the birds are coming through like crazy, then we may go longer. As with all animals, there may be days that we do not catch any birds, but October is when the majority of saw whets are migrating through and you have the best chance to see an owl.

Visitors should register ahead of time with me at adkraptors@slic.com or through 518-521-7123. Registered people will meet at the front doors of the VIC at 7:00 PM during the week days and 5:00 PM during the weekends.

During the weekends, they will not be going down to the nets so they do not need to bring lights or any special equipment. Week day visitors should bring lights with them. All visitors are guests of the Paul Smiths College Visitor Interpretive Center and must adhere to our rules or will be asked to leave.

The Paul Smiths College Visitor Interpretive Center’s Saw Whet Owl Banding Station is a member of Project Owlnet, a series of banding stations throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico that is tracking the Smallest owl in the Northeastern part of North America.