On Thu, 10 Dec 1998, Jim Rosso wrote:

> So far the majority of opinion is on the Sh.earred Owl side. Especially
> given type of flight, time of flight and habitat.

In my opionion, time and habitat should not be used as criteria for id.
Especieally if the sighting was west of the Cascades (Was the photo from
the west side? I have not looked at the photo yet, I have to do that at
work). In w WA, they have occured in a number of differing habitat types,
none really typical of where they are found in eastern WA. There is one
specimen from between Issiquah (sp) and Fall City and several others from
riparian thickets at midelevations in the Cacades and at least one from
the Olympics. They are highly nocturnal and difficult to detect. Dawson
and Bowles commented in 1909 that they might more common in w WA that we
think, because of their nocturnal habits and the density of the vegetation
of the habitat they would be in over here. They might seem more common in
the Columbia Basin because of the relative isolation of riparian areas
from other dense vegetation, which in turn, makes it easy to find them
there. There is no question that Long-eared Owls occur in the foothills of
the east slope of the Cascades. The records for e WA occur at about the
same frequency as they do for w WA. It is an interesting problem.

Russell

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Russell Rogers and Mary Moore
6637 Glenwood Drive SW
Olympia WA 98512
(360) 709-9870
rrogers at halcyon.com
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