Don,

The first Washington State Record is in the mid-60s from north of
Spokane, I believe. The first confirmed nesting was on the Skagit River
in ca. 1975. The moved into central interior BC in the 1940s for the
first time, as far as anyone knows. Clearly they have not been here all
along. There has been a massive emigration from the northeastern forest
which used to be their nw limit.

Gene Hunn.

On Mon, 3 Jul 1995, Don Baccus wrote:

> >I do remember seeing some notes on owls that were apparently
> >barredXspotted owl crosses. Can anyone update me or expand on what
> >poeple know about this particular hybrid example?
>
> My information is about two and a half years out of date, so
> others may have more recent info, but:
>
> At that time (three Febs ago) there were five confirmed "sparred"
> owl pairs which had produced hybrids.
>
> These were pairs uncovered during spotted owl surveys run by
> the USFS and later confirmed by owl specialists.
>
> One of these pairs consisted of a first-generation hybrid paired
> with either a spotted or barred owl, but I forget which. I do
> remember that this pair had fledged a chick, therefore demonstrating
> that the hybrid was able to produce young.
>
> They look, well, like a hybrid, darker than a barred but maintaining
> the barred throat/chest pattern. Their calls are distinctive, too,
> and I know the survey training tape currently used by the BLM
> has at least one sample on it.
>
> Habitat was "edgy", as the barreds are moving into younger
> stands which grow in clearcuts and then get introduced to
> those ever-so-attractive spotted owls living in adjacent
> old growth.
>
> I do know that other "sparreds" have been found since then, but
> don't know just how many. I imagine "many" would be an appropriate
> adjective.
>
> Regarding barreds in general, I am curious about the history
> of their distribution in the NW. Back in about 1988, a "hooter"
> friend who also bands hawks in Nevada with me told me that
> a lot of barreds were being found in Multnomah Basin, a
> several-mile long flat spot in the Columbia Gorge above the
> falls but below the top (Oregon). One area in particular had
> suffered severe blowdown and had been closed while salvage
> (of course) logging (by helicopter) took place. This area had
> always been boggy and had a lot of maple, etc but the blowdown had
> taken out quite a bit of old-growth outside this decidous
> thicket, opening it up. The hooter had uncovered a barred owl
> pair with chicks there. Some friends went to check it out (I got
> the flu, unfortunately) and also found them and reported it to
> the rare-bird committee.
>
> At the time, it was only the second accepted record of nesting
> barred owls in the state. Not much later, another friend
> and I found record #3 down by Klamath Falls, in an area known
> for great greys. The previous year, I saw a barred in the
> Blue Mountains at another area known for great greys (saw that,
> too, and a flam, all within a 200 ft radius, ah, one of those
> SUCCESSFUL trip leader experiences!) and I knew of few birders
> who'd ever seen one in Oregon. Obviously, a barred owl sitting
> on a tree implies a previous, unknown succesful nesting record
> somewhere so birders just weren't looking for them, I think.
>
> To some degree I think their population must truly be
> rising quickly. But I imagine there have always been many
> more here than folks knew.
>
> Now BLM and USFS survey crews find them all over. A year
> ago, I heard one calling from the ridge separating Cummins
> Creek from the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center. Now, a barred
> owl sighting won't even get you a mention on the PAS RBA!
>
> Unless it's parked its butt in a tree outside the downtown
> branch of the library as one did in Portland last year!
>
> - Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
>
>
>