Tweeters,
In response to the two postings recently concerning Northern Pygmy Owls,
yesterday I went to check a potential nesting I had of them here in
Kitsap County. I hadn't been able to locate the nest, and the birds went
quiet last month. After half an hour of intermittent calling, I was able
to elicit a respose from a Northern Pygmy Owl. While that doesn't
confirm nesting, it does prove that the birds are still around.

I checked on a Barred Owl nest this afternoon, only to discover that the
young had fledged. Last year the young at this nest were banded at this
time, meaning that the nesting is at least two weeks ahead of last year.

With the exception of Western Screech-Owls, most of the west of the
Cascades species of owls will have fledged young at this time, and owl
sightings probably indicating breeding attempts. In the instance of
Northern Pygmy Owls, the Breeding Bird Atlas for Washington has a
scarcity of records west of the Cascades, and these sightings ought to be
documented for the data base.

Jamie Acker
Bainbridge Island
BIowler1 at juno.com

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