I received a number of private emails on my comment about audio in national
parks.

Just wanted to mention that there's a new email group,
borealbirders at yahoo.com, it's for Interior Alaska. It just has a few members
as of yet, and they have been posting some amazing owling reports. Check it
out if you're interested in owls! I transcribe one (with permission) below.
I asked Luke whether he uses recordings, and he said he generally does not -
that he's had better results with boreals and great horned owls just
stopping every half mile on the road and listening...that boreals tend to
shut up when they hear a recording. (Hawk owls are a different story.)

At any rate, looks like listening works just as well, if not better, with
some of these species.

Nina Mollett
Seattle, WA (temp)
mailto: borealowl at gmail.com

Howdy all,
Last night (March 23) I went owling out Standard Creek road off the
Old Nenana HWY. Started at the pull off and stopped every half mile
and ended at mile 10. I started at 9:10PM and ended at 11:15PM.
Weather was clear, no wind and basically a full moon. By stop: mile
0.0 1BOOW 1GHOW, mile 0.5 1GHOW, mile 1.0 2GHOW, mile 1.5 1GHOW,
mile 2.0 2GHOW, mile 2.5 nothing, mile 3.0 1BOOW, mile 3.5 2GHOW,
mile 4.0 nothing, mile 4.5 1GHOW 1BOOW, mile 5.0 nothing, mile 5.5
nothing, mile 6.0 1GHOW 1BOOW, mile 6.5 1BOOW 1GHOW, mile 7.0 1GHOW
1BOOW, mile 7.5 2BOOW, mile 8.0 1BOOW 1GHOW, mile 8.5 1GHOW 1BOOW,
mile 9.0 1GHOW 1BOOW, mile 9.5 2BOOW 1GHOW and mile 10 1BOOW. In
total: 16 Great Horneds and 14 Boreals, 30 owls!! Very nice night
overall. Also today (March 24) at about noon had an American Robin
fly over College Road near Great Northwest, the dirt place there.
Bird on,
Luke DeCicco
Fairbanks AK