Larry & Tweeters,

Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO) banders frequently catch Barred Owls that
are attracted to the NSWO tapes, as well as Long Eared Owls and Boreal
Owls. At our site on Bainbridge, we have had a Barred come visit and
call, but so far has stayed clear of the nets. (This particular bird is
color banded and part of our study population.) I have also witnessed a
Barred Owl make an unsuccessful pass at a Western Screech-owl that I had
called in. I was unaware that the Barred was in the neighborhood. I
have also been dive-bombed by NSWO while calling for Barred.

As for light intensity, I read in "Owls, their Life and Behavior" by
Julio De La Torre, of a Boreal Owl in the Toronto Zoo in 1988 that went
blind and subsequently starved to death as a result of repeatedly being
exposed to photographers flashguns. I use a 500,000 candle power light
when I owl, and after I locate the owl, move it off so as not to bear
anywhere near the full candlepower on the bird. Ideally, a 300,000
candle power spotlight would be best, but I have yet to locate one. The
consumer driven philosophy that bigger is better....

As for the thread that has started on calling Boreals at Sunrise, there
is no difference to the bird in its response if the call is produced by a
tape/CD/MP3 player or whistled, except in the eyes of the law. I would
like to continue to encourage birders who do seek out the Boreal to
continue to report. Information is just data unless it is used. This
year appears to be a banner year for Boreal back East, and with few
banders in the West, it would be useful to know if there are a lot being
seen here as well. I would also like to somehow encourage the Park
rangers to organize a "Boreal Owl" field trip, as this might lessen the
impact of a multitude of birders descending upon the same bird.

Hope this helps.

Jamie Acker
Bainbridge Island, WA
mail to: BiOwler1 at juno.com

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