Tweeters,

Further to Steve Mlodinow's message, it is probably worth pointing out
that most of the Burrowing Owls seen in British Columbia these days
are not countable by ABA rules.

The last known nesting by the native BC population of Burrowing Owls
was at Penticton in 1970. A reintroduction program was begun in the
1980s, but as of 2004, there is still not a self-sustaining breeding
population of Burrowing Owls in BC. Reintroduction efforts continue,
mainly in the area from Kamloops to Douglas Lake. In the early days,
many Burrowing Owls were brought into BC from eastern Washington, and
also from the McKeever's owl rehabilitation facility in Ontario.
Today, a major source of Burrowing Owls for reintroduction in BC is
the Kamloops Wildlife Park, where Burrowing Owls are breeding in
captivity.

It is likely that the vast majority of Burrowing Owls seen in BC since
1980 have been in captivity at some time. There is a possibility that
some owls seen in fall or winter in southern BC could have migrated in
a westerly or southwesterly direction from Alberta or Saskatchewan,
which still have breeding Burrowing Owls (although these, too, have
declined dramatically in recent years). However, any Burrowing Owl
which is banded is of suspect origin.

As Steve says, what people want to count on their personal lists is
their own business. However, if one uses ABA rules, most Burrowing
Owls in BC, as well as many of the few seen in western Washington, are
not countable.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net



----- Original Message -----
From: <SGMlod at aol.com>
To: <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 8:22 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] Burrowing Owl


> Greetings All
>
> I don't really want to stir up trouble, but I guess this should be
said.
> Before I start--- remember what YOU count on any list is TOTALLY up
to YOU.
>
> This Burrowing Owl was raised in captivity in Vancouver, BC. It is,
> essentially a cage bird. Released on purpose to good purpose, yes --
but how different
> is counting this than a Orange Bishop at the Game Range. Indeed, its
> occurrence in w. WA may well be due to it having been raised in sw.
BC.
>
> We did go through a period in the 70s and 80s when many of the
Peregrines we
> were seeing were undoubtedly of similar origins. But you rarely knew
about any
> specific bird.
>
> We know about this Burrowing Owl. All organizations that have
listing rules
> would clearly deem this bird "not countable" and it certainly
shouldn't go on
> any "official" county list.
>
> Again, people's personal lists are just that; for their enjoyment
and
> pleasure to do with what they will.
>
> But....
>
> Cheers
> Steven Mlodinow
> Everett WA
>