News Release

Owl Banding at the National Park Visitor Center

Date: October 27, 2023

Burn the midnight oil with the Indiana Audubon at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center.  Learn about Indiana’s smallest owl at the Saw-whet Owl Banding Demonstration on Thursdays-Sundays in early November. Participants will see owls banded following hourly net checks. The demonstrations will take place on November 2, 3 and 4 starting at 7:00 pm and November 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 starting at 6:00 pm. 

For visitors wanting to get a closer look, there will be a behind the scenes program on Friday-Saturday, November 3 and 4 starting at 5:30 pm and Sunday, November 5 starting at 4:30 pm. The participants will join experts from Indiana Audubon in putting-up nets and preforming the hourly checks to capture Saw-whet owls as they migrate through the area. Participants will get to see the owls removed from the nets and banded at the field station. There will be a minimum of three checks each night. 

The program is weather dependent and cancelled during rain or high winds. Space is limited. There is a fee required to participate in the events. Registration is required at https://indianaaudubon.org/events/. 

The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center is located at 1215 North State Road 49, about one mile north of Interstate 94. For more information on this and other programs at Indiana Dunes National Park, call 219-395-1882, visit our website, download the official National Park Service app, or view our Facebook page.   

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www.nps.gov 

The Indiana Dunes National Park is one of more than 400 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Located in Northwest Indiana, the park includes 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 15,000 acres of biodiverse beaches, woods, prairies, and marshes. Over 3 million visitors come to the Indiana Dunes each year.