HMA Lunch & Learn Series: Owl Banding in the Boreal Forest

The Hawk Migration Association's November 2025 lunch and learn was all about OWLS as we welcomed Bruce Murphy, bander and educator from the Hilliardton Marsh Research and Education Center in Ontario, Canada.

Since 2000 they have been banding Northern Saw-whet Owls at the Hilliardton Marsh in Ontario. During that time they have also had a great deal of success banding boreal owls and long eared owls. This talk led us through what they have discovered about our focused on their research and how fortunate they are to live in the boreal forest where so many of these owls breed then disperse across the Atlantic flyway. You will see Bruce shared what they have discovered about Boreal owls.

Bruce is a retired environmental science and outdoor education teacher and has been banding songbirds at the Hilliardton marsh since 1996 and owls since 2000. His interest in banding began when he was in grade six when he visited a banding station with his class and saw a black capped chickadee being banded. He was fortunate to teach a semester-long outdoor education class that we called TERRA where his grade 11/12 students taught visiting school groups and the general public about banding and wetland ecology. It was the highlight of his career and many of his students have had their weddings at the marsh. Currently he is still very involved in both songbird and owl banding and lives 3 miles away from the marsh on the shores of the Blanche river where he and his partner Joanne enjoy watching birds at the feeders when the chickens and turkeys aren’t stealing all the bird food.

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