Hi Tweets -
It looks like I got the ID wrong on the small Marymoor owls we've had
over the last two weeks at Marymoor [Redmond, King Co.]

After some help from Gene Hunn who followed up on the sightings, the
correct new owl for the Marymoor list is Western Screech, not
Northern Saw-whet. Given how few sightings of either I've had, I
guess I shouldn't feel too embarrassed by the mistake, but I wouldn't
have expected to mix up those two species given the option of which
owls I'd be likely to confuse!

The owls we saw never showed the extended ear tufts I was probably
relying on to distinguish a screech, but I see from several field
guides that those ear tufts aren't always extended. I bet I was also
relying on being able to tell the size difference, which turns out to
be not so great. Facial patterning and body patterning were pretty
inconclusive in the dark.

This morning, I understand that Gene & others both saw and heard the
owls, which makes a pretty open and shut case for WESO.

Question for the more owl-experienced out there: Assuming I've got
the basics of the book descriptions down, what should I really be
looking at when I next encounter a silent small owl to feel more
confident about making the correct id? Thanks!

In any case great little birds!


Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA


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