On Tue, 27 Feb 1996, Don Baccus wrote:

> This sums up my problems with it. NW Washington is not the place
> a researcher would go to study great gray owls during incursion
> events because this isn't where they normally go. I've read a
> great book about banding and studying great gray owls during
> hard winters up in Canada (I'm sure some have seen it, catching
> them with fishing nets on a lure played out by a fishing pole).
> These folks, in a sense, stumbled on the subject in a year when
> many were around but they are in a good area to do so, because
> it is predictible that they're going to see a meaningful
> flucuation, and have the opportunity to study meaningful
> numbers and gather a reasonable set of data. It sounds like
> a great project (the book was written in the late 60s), wish
> I could've been there.

Robert Nero's book. He's still at it, by the way.

> This just isn't the case, here. Raptor banders already have this
> "band it if it moves" reputation, and the reputation of being
> infatuated with charismatic species (otherwise we'd be banding
> song sparrows :) ^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^^^^^^^
^^^^ ^^^^^^^^

Hey!!!! :)

It would be nice if Bud Anderson (am I right that he was the person who
transmittered the Great Gray?) could

A) see some of this discussion, and
B) have a chance to put in his viewpoint

My most vivid memories of the two Great Grays and the one Hawk Owl I have
seen have been their utter unconcern with me. The hawk owl caught a vole
only 8 feet from me, and one Great Gray flew within touching distance.
Even if this Great Gray sticks around, I think it's a shame if it really
has become "flighty" around humans (though, if the species ever ends up
cohabiting with humans, they'll have to learn it sooner or later!).

Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu