This is about the time we expect to start hearing saw-whets calling here
northeast of Olympia. I've wondered what they're up to as well. Same with
the Great-horned Owl out back of our place, that has been calling
off-and-on since late August. The saw-whets will be heard regularly from
now until, oh, about four days before the Christmas count in December:(
They'll resume, of course, in January.

We've heard them most consistently in heavily wooded gullies leading down
to the water; Tolmie State Park is a good example. Take some time to get a
good story together to tell the Thurston County sheriff who'll be wondering
why you're parked at the state park at midnight.


>Having just heard a long series of "toots" out in the forest, I came in to
>reread the posts on saw-whet calls from last spring. Chris Hill (I think)
>said that the repeated single call was given in the spring as a mating
>"advertisement". We're quite a ways from spring, is it likely for a
>saw-whet to be doing this already? If not, what other possibilities are
>there? Thanks...
>
>Rob Saecker
>Olympia
>


Eric Kraig
Olympia, WA
kraig at wln.com