On the quest for a saw-whet

Being a birder, one of the best feelings is finding a rare bird. In the fall i help band Saw-whet owls at a local banding location. Some also stay and winter in Hudson river valley. Here is a website showing information on Saw-whets in Hudson river valley. Last winter was a very good year for them down here. We found a lot, over 15! Well this year we went back to all those places and saw nothing not even a pellet. Then about two weeks ago i went hiking through a very urban local park. I saw some small conifers and decided to check them. Unbelievably i found a good amount of pellets and whitewash. Its in a perfect area, a hill going down to a stream. There were several patches of conifers with whitewash and pellets. But ofcourse they werent fresh. It looked as if i missed the Owl by 2-3 weeks. I am checking now as it might come back to migrate.


Below are pictures of the habitat in which Saw-whets roost
they like small conifers during the winter time



Look for white wash and pellets, for evidence of an owl