Dennis raises a question that's been on my mind since viewing the site. I
tried to report only what I saw so that others could and possibly would
offer their suggestions as Dennis has done. As I have thought about what was
there, I agree with much of what Dennis suggests. While there were feathers
all over, I only saw one set of wings, only part of a back, no feet,head or
rib cage, one larger tuft that could have been breast and another that I
took for rump. I don't think I saw anything that would disagree with it
being a single bird. The parts were so widely scattered and in such an
illogical manner for animals that I think it was done purposely by the
shooter, for what reason I can only guess. From the 6-8 38mm casings found
on the road, I think they may have fired into the thicket to flush the birds
and then shot one of the owls as it came out. As Dennis said they (the
owls}wouldn't stick around or come back soon enough for them to get many.
Hopefully this is the case and they will return. I should mention that when
we entered the site my wife is certain she got a glance of one going out
behind her. No sound of course.
Another thing I noted was most of the shotgun casings were near the porky
and were marked 7 1/2 or 8 which I think is birdshot like would be used for
grouse. If so the shooter may have had trouble killing him. Perhaps he had
used all of his 8mm earlier as there were no casings of that type around
that area.
So, while none of this is pleasant, the good side is it may have been just
one bird and if my wife is correct in what she saw they are already
returning. I hope so. Earlier this year I was able to sit in the truck and
photograph three young ones there, and it's kind of like being a godfather
or something. A picture of two of them is here:
http://www.pbase.com/jvhigbee/image/60930734
One more thought; this location is miles from anyplace. Anything that would
draw further attention to it would probably work against we birders and do
little if any good for the owls. If this is a one time incident, and I think
it is, it's probably best to swallow hard and let it pass.

Joseph Higbee
Spanaway, WA
Mailto: jvhigbee at hotmail.com