Tweeters,
" By 4:50PM it was very dark, and we saw on a park
bench in the woods and played the Saw-whet Owl tape. Pretty soon we hear
a
Western Screech-Owl. It answered from fairly close, and we heard it
getting
closer and closer. We could see a bird flying. Finally, Charlie turned
on
the big flashlight. There sat a Barred Owl about 15 feet away. Wow. We
walked around and got good looks at him. What a thrill, because this
bird
was a lifer for me, and it was the best view that Charlie had seen of
Barred
Owl. We figure we had both owls very near to us and we were viewing the
Barred Owl at 5PM."

I have had numerous encounters with BARRED OWLS that respond silently to
WESTERN SCREECH-OWL calls, and two weeks ago to a NORTHERN SAW-WHET call.
A word of caution to you who owl, in that the welfare of the owl you
call in is your responsibility. Several years ago I witnessed a BARRED
OWL make an unsuccessful pass out of nowhere at a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL
that I had called in. The BARRED OWL is a very bold and successful
preditor as it will eat almost anything - other owls included. So far
this season (since September), I have had 4 BARRED OWLS respond to other
owl calls that I have used. Being a relatively recent addition to
Washington (1965), other species have not had much of an opportunity
(SPOTTED OWL included) to adapt to this new threat.
Jamie Acker
Bainbridge Island
BIowler1 at juno.com

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