Subject: Urban owl story
Date: Nov 21 04:16:55 1998
From: "Jim McCoy" - jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Regarding the speculation about what the spotted owl might have eaten and
whether he could have survived:
Two winters ago a boreal owl roosted in the same small yew tree* on
Commonwealth Avenue in the middle of Boston's Back Bay neighborhood for a
good two months. His choice of roost afforded birders many observations of
his dining habits. He apparently was living almost exclusively on rats, of
which Boston has a nearly limitless supply.
Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA
*This species has a reputation for "one-day stands"; wintering boreals are
seldom found in the same roost twice. This was obviously not your average
boreal owl.