Hi Tweeters,

Hidden in the night, the migration of small owls may be larger than we
think.

Someone who frequently travels the Fraser Valley at night this time of the
year says there seems to be the usual abrupt increase in the numbers of
small owls in the headlights and perched on the side of the thoroughfare
that he's seen in years previous. This is also about the time that the
first Northern Saw-whet Owls (NSWO) start showing up at the usual winter
roosts at the Reifel Refuge.

Is this just a vertical migration, or a 'local movement'? Not likely;
there's been no snow yet nor has the water frozen solid up high, as it's
simply been too warm, and besides, there's just too many birds
(5--10/night).

Where do they come from, then? No one really knows. I'd guess the northern
parts of the range, and maybe birds from the adjacent BC Interior. Are the
first NSWO's at Reifel the same ones which winter? There's a lot we don't
know about this.

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
mprice at mindlink.net