This morning (July 17) at about 11:30 AM -12:20 PM I watched a young BARRED
OWL at Watershed Park in Olympia. It was very cooperative and allowed great
views the entire visit. This was my third attempt at Barred Owl at this
location, but it is not that difficult to find the owls here. There must be
at least three individuals in the park, my friend has seen an adult owl
recently and I heard one more young bird calling today. Directions from the
entrance: At the base of the entrance stairs head left at the fork. Soon
you will descend a series of stairs, cross the first wooden bridge/pathway
and stop here. LISTEN for the upset Robins in the area. Whenever you hear
the Robins giving the alarm call you will be able to find these owls. They
seem to be staying in this section of the park, as this is where my friend
has also been seeing the adult.

There is no need for using tapes, and I guess I would discourage the use.
The robins will give away the birds, and they are often out during daylight.
One behavior I noticed was that when the owl is hunkered down in the
shrubbery or low trees the Robins do not give the alarm. So it seems that
if you hang around long enough the owls will move to an open area, setting
off the ever-vigilant Robins.

The owl still had downy feathering around the facial disc and on the head.
It was seen bathing at one point in a small stream, then preening for about
10 minutes (allowing great views of him/her "zipping up" the primaries and
secondaries). Listen for the high-pitched, thin "siiiiiii" calls of this
bird.

Jason Paulios
JPaulios at hotmail.com
Olympia, WA



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