Hello All,
During the course of several sever winters here in southeastern Washington
we have come across many distressed birds due to deep snow cover and very
low air temps. The first winter that comes to mind is the winter of 1993.
During mid-February we observed dozens of Barn, Shore-eared ,4 Long-eared
and a few Great-horned Owls all out in broad daylight hunting. We had been
hit with 18 inches of snow and then it sunk to 6 above zero for 5 days.
These owls were desperate and hunted during the day in the sun as the
surface crust ice softened and allowed them to punch through to the mice
under the snow. After about 3 P.M. the crust ice hardened and the owls could
not punch through. We observed many dead Barn Owls out in the fields after
the snow melted off.

During Feb. 2004 we located dozens of feather piles under dense brush lines
at Big Flat HMU, Franklin Co.. Temps had plummeted to 21 below zero and many
small birds succumbed including several Sharp-shinned Hawks at just this one
location. It is during these hard winters that the Bewicks Wren population
really suffers here in the Walla Walla Valley.
Later Mike

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Mike & MerryLynn Denny
1354 S. E. Central Ave.
College Place, WA 99324
509.529.0080 (h)

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED!
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