Dear Birders:

A quick reply to Kathy Caminiti's request for information on owls in the
Seattle area. While I know almost nothing about owls in the Seattle area,
I'd like to say that early November is generally a great time to look for
Northern Pygmy-Owls and Boreal Owls in the southern Interior of BC, and
presumably the Cascades of Washington as well. They usually respond very
quickly to tapes or vocal imitations at that time, and are usually more
aggressive and visible now than in the spring, when they are more concerned
with attracting mates. Boreals don't reply with songs at this time, though,
just "skiew" and "mooo-a" alarm/contact calls. This year, however, seems to
be the worst in recent memory for finding Boreals in southern BC; I've only
heard one lonely squawk in 7 long nights of searching. A normal result
would be one or two birds per night. On the other hand, Pygmy-Owls seem to
be common; I found 6 last Sunday afternoon alone. As for Spotteds, BC
researchers found that they became responsive to tapes again in October; I
don't know how early November would be.

Happy owling!

Dick Cannings
1330 Debeck Road
S11, C96, RR#1
Naramata, BC V0H 1N0
CANADA

(250) 496-4049