Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

The northern saw-whet owl is a species of small owl in the family Strigidae. The species is native to North America. Saw-whet owls of the genus Aegolius are some of the smallest owl species in North America. They can be found in dense thickets, often at eye level, although they can also be found some 20 ft (6.1 m) up. Saw-whets are often in danger of being preyed upon by larger birds of prey. The northern saw-whet owl is a migratory bird without any strict pattern. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 334,709 times across 56 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 7°C (typically 2 to 21°C, from 30 areas). That range is wide, so temperature alone does not explain when it turns up.

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in North America ranged from 38°N in August to 56°N in February, about 2,000 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.