Though it is not yet understood why, banding stations throughout the east consistently report significant increases in overall numbers every two years. Very large numbers in 1995 and 1999 may indicate another four-year cycle of population increase. Many more years of tracking and study are required to draw conclusions about these patterns. Data collected at the West Virginia station is sent to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's bird banding laboratory, as is data collected from stations throughout the east from Maine to South Carolina. By banding the birds, it has been determined that some have migrated via a coastal flight path one year and traveled inland over the Allegheny Mountains the next.
Data also suggest that they prefer to travel discreetly, without the light of a bright moon.
Back at the banding shed, we remove the birds, one at a time, from their bags. To my utter delight, Kevin places the first one on my hand and instructs me to grasp its legs gently between my thumb and index finger. The owl flaps in protest but for a moment, then settles on my hand. I marvel first at its composure under the circumstances, then, at the round, feathered disks of its face that frame alert and brilliantly yellow-gold eyes. Studying me quietly, it learns that human behavior includes high-pitched cooing and involuntary grinning.