** Reto Riesen wrote to Michael Price -

Michael,
your comments on low numbers of Short-eared Owls and Rough-legged Hawks
here in Vancouver sparked a memory - Jack Bowling in Prince George/
Interior B.C. mentioned in a message yesterday that they had 8 times the
average numbers of SEOW on their Christmas bird count. And his message
today with the overall CBC results show also an all time high for
Rough-legged Hawks... he used the SEOW number to make a point about
possible El Nino influence (mild, low snow cover in the interior).
It will certainly be interesting to compare the final numbers as you
pointed out (my guess is that the missing area have not yet
reported to the compiler but are surveyed).

Is there an exceptional Short-eared Owl and Rough-legged Hawk situation
elsewhere in tweeterland?

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We can only hope that the distribution of field-flying raptors such as Short-
eared Owls and Rough-legged Hawks is both more northerly and more evenly
distributed this winter, rather than a crash of populations to explain the low
numbers in the Greater Vancouver, BC area. Only more reports from the field will
reveal such things. Note that most of the owls have moved on from Prince George
due to the cold snap around New Year's. The real indication will come from the
Creston Valley in s.e. BC.; this area normally has the highest concentration of
wintering Rough-legged Hawks in BC., significantly outnumbering the Vancouver, BC
winter population.

- Jack




Jack Bowling
RR1-S14-C41
Prince George, BC
Canada
V2N 2H8
phone: (250) 963-7837
fax: (250) 963-7801
jbowling at direct.ca