This may also increase the likelihood of recoveries from other banders. Some sites are using a box or triangle of nets around the lure. Further investigation is needed to determine the effectiveness of these arrays. Good documentation of location of captures in the nets as well as direction of travel is essential to designing a good net array. Changes may be made to maximize captures in the first few years of operation, however it will soon be necessary to maintain a consistant setup to standardize the data collected.
Any wooded area is a potential place to net.
We know very little about habitat preferences of Northern Saw-whet Owls during migration. We suspect that fields are not the most productive places to net. From what is known of habitat preferences we can suggest potentially more productive habitats. Forests with higher composition of species providing good cover have proven to be good places to net migrant saw-whet owls and locations such as forests with significant Eastern Hemlock occurrence, Appalachian Mountain Red Spruce and coastal Loblolly Pine. Another possibility is hardwood forests with substantial cover from rhododendron and Mountain Laurel.