Poor Richard lamented -

> So, the "mythical" Flammulated Owl eludes me AGAIN! I have never ever even
> heard one, much less ever seen one, apart from tapes and pictures in the
> books. To someone with experience with this species, is even early June,
> when I thought conditions might be "perfect", clear and calm, setting
> crescent moon, otherwise dark except for that trace of twilight which eerily
> glows all night across the northern horizon this time of year, ...already too
> late in the season??

Hmmm... if you want to find a Flammy in BC, you go to the ecotone between the
Ponderosa Pine/Bunchgrass and the Interior Douglas Fir zones. The owls nest in
the old flickers holes in the pine vets, and the adults (usually males) roost in
the thick copses of young firs. And by all means no, at your latitude, the owls
should still be hooting up a storm in early June since they have only been back
a month or less. I guess nobody told you the secret to finding Flammies, Richard:
Go to the most likely looking place *in broad daylight* and do your impression of
a Flammy hoot. The males are usually so territorial that they will awaken from a
dead sleep and start hooting back. Which usually allows you time enough to track
the caling owl down (hint: usually in a thick bunch of young firs). Word of warning
though - the call is quite ventriloquial and will have the most experienced
observer circling around the hiding spot scratching her/his head. But doing it
in the daytime at least gives you the ability to avoid the nasty nightime tumbles
on a rocky slope which are typical of a nocturnal Flammy hunt. And instead of an
active moth-eating hunter, you will find a barely awake and immovable owl huddled
against a trunk. An absolute marvel of camouflage when the plumage is seen against
the trunk of its roosting tree.

- Jack

P.S. The calling owl is *always* closer to you than it sounds.



Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jcbowling at mindlink.bc.ca