I took the second group of owlers from my SAS class on "Owls of Washington"
out this morning, meeting them as they got off the 0210 ferry from Seattle.

Before meeting up with them, I did some owl banding at Islandwood, where I
caught and banded a second year male Barred Owl (BDOW). This bird was on an
established BDOW pair's territory. I also caught a Northern Saw-whet Owl
(NSWO) that I had previously banded on October 10th of last year. I would
love to know where she has been in the intervening time. I did hear another
NSWO, but did not catch it. On my way to meet the group at a quick stop I
had a responsive NSWO toot back at me.



The weather was supportive for owling. The temperature was a crisp 34
degrees, and up to 37 degrees, the barometer was high and steady at 30.48
inches. Winds were slight at less than 5 mph from the NNE until midnight,
and then shifting to the SSW. For some reason, the owls, with the exception
of Great Horned Owls (GHOW), were not vocal. I had been anticipating a
great night of vocals.



Our first stop resulted in a male BDOW that flew in silent in response to my
NSWO call. This was the adult male from the Islandwood pair. At the next
stop. I was surprised by a BDOW that also flew in silent in response to my
NSWO call, and upon checking, was the bird that I had banded just eight
hours previous. A NSWO responded at our next stop, but remained elusive,
despite an intensive search under night vision. The bird was viewed by some
briefly before disappearing. It did provide us with some typical NSWO
vocalizations. Enroute to the next stop, a BARN OWL flew alongside the road
for a brief moment, but was only viewed by me and one other owler. At the
south end of the Island, we invested considerable time trying to convince
another NSWO into viewing. Although it crossed overhead on several
occasions, it remained skillfully buried in deep cedars when it landed. It
did give us a variety of calls, and was briefly seen by most of the owlers.
The last NSWO of the night pulled the same trick, flying overhead,
vocalizing, and remained out of sight. Another BDOW responded to my BDOW
call, and flew in silently for a short look. Two more stops for Barn Owl
proved unproductive, but the next two stops provided close looks at two more
BDOW. We made one quick stop to listen for the Great Horned Owl, and were
rewarded with several calls from the female. She relocated twice while we
were there and called. The last stop of the morning was an off-island
location for a Northern Pygmy Owl, which responded to my calls with several
bursts of tooting, and on one occasion, a trill call. As we were about to
pack it in and call it a night, a Great Horned Owl called from nearby
several times. Her mate called from fairly close to us, but remained
unseen, until the last call we heard was distant from the east.



Not a bad morning out, but disappointing in terms of vocalizations. The
group total for the night was 1 NORTHERN PYGMY OWL, 3 NORTHERN SAW-WHET
OWLS, 1 BARN OWL, 5 BARRED OWLS, and 3 GREAT HORNED OWLS.



J. Acker

Bainbridge Island, WA

<mailto:Owler at sounddsl.com> Owler at sounddsl.com



A voice unspoken (or unwritten) is a voice unheard.

Be heard!