He may have to do nothing.

Great Horned owls are active from dusk to sunrise, which shouldn't
interfer with normal daylight use of the trail. The nest at Nisqually is
an example of this type of behavior. Unless a user of the trail makes a
deliberate attempt at climbing the nest, walking within several feet of
the nest tree in daylight shouldn't bring a response, especially if it is
fairly frequent, rather than very infrequently.

Night time is a different matter, and depending upon how territorial
(defensive) the adults are, there could be problems from the adults
attacking humans in defense of the nest.

As the owlets get older, they tend to play with the sticks that make up
the nest (I assume that this is a stick nest, as in an old red-tailed hawk
nest, and not a cavity nest?) to the point that it is not unusual for them
to dismantle the entire nest such that it and they end up on the ground.
This is not a problem for the owls, but the adults get a bit more
defensive with young on the ground than they do with them in the nest.
The young usually find some tree by which using their beak, talons, and
flapping, get themselves back up off the ground and out of reach from
predatory raccoons, coyote, fox, etc.

I have also seen instances where one has to wonder about the thought that
went into nest site location on the part of the bird. I suspect that some
deliberately choose to nest near trails, homes, eagle nests, sewage
treatment plants (yes, I have a Barred owl nesting for the sixth year
about 100 feet from one)in that the activity provided by others gives them
additional security. I suspect that the Barred Owl that nests near the
eagle nest is taking advantage of the daylight security of the area
provided by the eagle, such that the male Barred Owl doesn't have to do
much and can more effectively hunt for the family.

Having written this, my experience with Barred Owls is that temperments
vary widely with individuals, and with seasons. Owls that respond
positively to humans such as the female Barred Owl at Islandwood that will
come in and seem almost friendly during the non-breeding season won't
hesitate to attack me when I climb the nest tree in daylight to band the
young.

Hope this is of some help.
-Jamie





> I'm looking for advice from an owling expert -- that could be you, or
> someone you know.
>
> An aquaintance has discovered what he believes to be a Great Horned
> Owl nesting not many feet from a trail that the owner ordinarily
> makes available to the public. The question is, how wide a no-entry
> perimeter should be established to keep people from disturbing the nesting
> owl?
>
>
> Marc Hoffman
> Kirkland, WA
> http://www.dartfrogmedia.com
> mailto:tweeters at dartfrogmedia.com
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>


Jamie Acker
Bainbridge Island, WA
Owler at sounddsl.com