This morning I took nine members from a SAS class out owling on Bainbridge.
The weather was near perfect -cold, clear, with little to no wind.

In addition to the 18 owls that were seen or heard, there were at least 2
meteors, 4 deer, and one raccoon. The moon made for good visibility.



Highlights of the trip were looks at 9 BARRED OWLs. Many of these responded
to Northern Saw-whet Owl tooting, and came in silently. 9 is a big number
for one night. I had 8 for the last Kitsap CBC and thought that high.



Two members joined me an hour before we met up with the rest of the group
that came off the 0210 ferry from Seattle, and we had Northern Saw-whet Owls
call at two different locations. One of these Saw-whets buzzed right between
us at shoulder level, and started tooting from a nearby cedar. This bird
remained very elusive, and did not provide a viewing. I spent a good
portion of the remainder of the night trying to coax a Saw-whet into calling
and perching for a view for the group, and had all but given up when at the
second to last stop where we heard the GREAT HORNED OWL duet, a Saw-whet
started tooting softly back at me. I was able to locate this bird for the
group, and it nicely stayed put long enough for everyone to enjoy. We had a
total of 6 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLs for the morning.



The last stop was an off Island stop in an attempt for a NORTHERN PYGMY OWL.
This bird responded almost immediately to my call, and continued tooting for
several minutes for the group. This particular bird hangs out high in
second growth conifers, and I have rarely seen it. I felt fortunate that I
was able to have it call for the group.



In all, a successful expedition.



-Jamie







J. Acker

Bainbridge Island, Washington

owler at sounddsl.com