On a brisk October evening, Michael Bloom, a field technician at Redberry Lake Biosphere Region, waits in the dark as a speaker played loud hooting sounds, all in an attempt to catch a saw-whet owl in the wide net he set up in the brush earlier that night.
The biosphere, located about 90 km northwest of Saskatoon, is Saskatchewan’s only United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site. It’s one of 19 in Canada or only one of 730 in the world.
Before becoming a UNESCO site, the area was a hotspot for the then-endangered American white pelican, and became a migratory bird sanctuary, then in 2000 it was officially designated a UNESCO biosphere.
There are over 217 species of birds that come to the region, including species at risk like the whooping crane and loggerhead shrike.
The biosphere teams up with universities across the world to facilitate research and study of birds among other initiatives, but also looks to become a spot where avid birders can come.
The non-profit organization is largely funded through grants from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Tourism Saskatchewan.
Catching and tagging owls
From mid-September to late October the northern saw-whet owls are typically migrating south to look for food and warming weather.
They’re the most tagged owl in North America according to Bloom.
“We are trying to catch as many northern saw-whet owls as we can, just to see if their numbers are staying the same or if they’re decreasing or if they’re increasing,” said Bloom standing next to a net he set up to catch the owls.
With the help of a hooting sound playing on a speaker, the province’s second smallest owls fly toward it — with a few flying directly into a mesh net with little pockets.
Michael Bloom, a field technician at Redberry Lake Biosphere Region, stands next to the net he set up to capture saw-whet owls at night. (Don Somers/CBC)
Bloom said the hooting tempo and sound of the saw-whet is similar to the sound of a truck backing up.
Bloom has to act quickly once the tiny owl swoops into his net because of predators like larger owls or raccoons that could take advantage of the easy pickings.
On average they catch about 100 to 200 of the owls every season.
After catching the raptor, Bloom then takes measurements of the wings and tail, weighs it and tags it.
“Weight is fairly important because we can determine how healthy the bird is, and after that we put on an aluminum federal USGS [United States Geological Survey] coded band, and that way, if the owls ever recaptured, then you can get the information of what we took,” said Bloom.
The weight of the bird is also a key indicator of the sex. Bloom gently takes the weight by putting the owl in a small emptied-out iced tea can and placing it on a scale momentarily.
Under a black light, the feathers on the inside of the owl’s wing are also a way of telling how old it is, as the older it gets, the less pink coloration shows.
Nathaniel Puffalt, the communications manager at Redberry Lake Biosphere Region, stands for a portrait in a field at the site, which is Saskatchewan’s only UNESCO biosphere. (Don Somers/CBC)
Redberry Lake Biosphere Region is a little known place on the Prairies, but its communications manager Nathaniel Puffalt hopes to change that soon.
“I think as a global society we have forgotten that we are nature, we’re not separate from nature, we are an integral part of nature,” said Puffalt.
“Places like this UNESCO Biosphere and others across the world, remind us of that and bring us back into the wild where we can coexist with the wild, so part of what we want to do is preserve pathways that humans and wildlife can coexist and thrive through those sustainable development solutions.”
Puffalt said soon the biosphere is building a few domes for glamping and an observatory, so birders can come experience the owl hotspot.