Tweets,
Finally, I can confirm by sight that the Barred Owl has taken up residence
and is nesting in Seahurst Park. I've been hearing what sounded
like Barred Owls over the past few months, and other hikers in
the park told me about seeing the owls. Yesterday, while out hiking in
the park with my Dad, we saw an adult and a fat, scruffy fledgling/juvie
perched mid-way up Douglas firs fairly far out on horizontal limbs; very
visible.
The adult was being mobbed by Robins, Song Sparrows, and Chickadees.
What a marvelous sighting. My parents are visiting from east TN. They
know the Barred Owl very well. When living on the edge of a woodland in
Norris, TN, some years ago, they had a nesting pair of Barred Owls that
fledged 2 or 3 youngsters. Until dispersing, the owls used their yard to
hang out, bathing in the birdbath and even looking in my folks'
home windows at night. A Univ of TN ornithology specialist visited their
place to confirm the owls, and the local newspaper there did an article.

The Barred Owl does not seem to be as shy as the bird guides suggest; at
least, the "urban" Barred's are much more tolerant of people. And, after
years of looking, this is a life sighting for me!

Lots of fun, indeed, me2
****************************************
Maureen Ellis, PhD, Research Scientist
Woods Lab, Toxicology Group at Roos 1, Box 354695
Lab/Office phone: 206-685-1938 Email: mj2ephd at u.washington.edu
DEOHS, SPHCM, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
****************************************

"To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities
as you do at conclusions." ____Ben Franklin

"Be the change you want to see in the world." ____Ghandi