Subject: [Tweeters] Renton's Owl
Date: Mar 20 12:29:00 2010
From: Larry Schwitters - lpatters at ix.netcom.com


Guy,

Could this end up being a significant discussion?

What encourages humans to appreciate and value wildlife are intimate
encounters. This post office owl situation has some good potential
for that sort of thing. Any ideas anyone?

Here is something from Canadian Wildlife worth considering.

"Captive-bred Burrowing Owls breed in and some return to the
grasslands near Kamloops, British Columbia, where they are introduced
each spring. Occasionally, Burrowing Owls winter in coastal British
Columbia."

So might this be a BC captive breed and released bird on winter
vacation?

Larry Schwitters
Issaquah

On Mar 20, 2010, at 11:38 AM, Guy McWethy wrote:

> Hey Rob,
> Yeah I agree on many points.
> We always run that line between letting nature take its course, or
> allowing our compassion (and passion) to rule our actions.
>
> I am just asking if it would harm anything, that if this bird is
> lost and starving, and now unable to fly out of there, to take this
> bird into captivity and re-habilitate it, feed it, let it get
> stronger, then release it back into a more natural habitat for it.
> Release it somewhere on the east side.
> Give it a chance.
>
> What ARE the ethics here? I am not sure. But I would at least
> suggest that someone with some experience with Raptors at least
> examine the bird (start from a distance) and see if it is healthy
> enough to leave if it wants to.
> If it is starving, can we allow our compassion to take that step,
> and capture
> it, and in doing so possibly kill it, but attempt to re-habilitate
> it and release it someplace it would have a chance to survive?
>
> And will any of this benefit the species? Their numbers are low, so
> maybe one individual CAN make a difference. And maybe bringing it
> in, re-habbing it, and releasing it, will get some people to think
> about the birds and their plight. Maybe get one person to re-
> evaluate how they think about bird like the Burrowing Owl, and maybe
> make a little difference.
>
> Little differences CAN add up.
>
> Sounds like Larry has a plan. We will have to see how it works out.
>
> Guy McWethy
>
> Renton, WA
>
> mailto: lguy_mcw at yahoo.com
>
> --- On Sat, 3/20/10, Rob Sandelin <nwnature at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> From: Rob Sandelin <nwnature at verizon.net>
> Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Renton's Owl
> To: "'Guy McWethy'" <lguy_mcw at yahoo.com>
> Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010, 10:39 AM
>
>
>
>
> An interesting notion, Capturing and handling an owl is going
> to make it healthier? If it's an out of place bird and it does not
> thrive,
> is it really our right to intervene? What are we rescuing it from?
> Itself? The intrusive birders? Or should be let nature take its
> course and let this bird follow the the natural consequences for
> being in the
> wrong place. Do we relocate it, if so where? And for what
> purpose? Put it in a zoo so we can gawk at it easier? It may very
> well decide to leave on its own and so should we preempt the birds
> decision
> making?
>
> One of my concerns about tweeters is that it sometimes brings
> out huge crowds of hundreds of people to see a bird like this, turning
> into gawk festivals which either drive away the animals altogether or
> cause them distress. This is unlikely to be a good thing for the
> birds in
> question.
>
> Rob Sandelin
> Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
>
>
>
> From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu
> [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Guy
> McWethy
> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 10:17 AM
> To:
> Tweeters
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Renton's Owl
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hey Larry,
> I was wondering the same thing.
> Just not
> normal for an owl, let alone a Burrowing, to be sitting in a
> tree that
> long, in such a spot.
> I doubt there is anything there for it to feed
> on.
> Any re-habbers out there that could get down there and check
> it out?
> Someone with some raptor experience, maybe catch it, and check
> its fat layers?
>
> I would really hate to hear that it was starving to
> death while we were watching it ....
>
> Guy McWethy
> Renton,
> WA
> mailto: lguy_mcw at yahoo.com
>
> --- On Sat, 3/20/10, Larry
> Schwitters <lpatters at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
>
> From:
> Larry Schwitters <lpatters at ix.netcom.com>
> Subject: [Tweeters]
> Renton's Owl
> To: "Tweeters ListServ"
> <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010,
> 9:39 AM
>
>
> Tweeters,
>
>
> This little guy (girl?) is probably in trouble. How would one
> know if that is actually the case?
>
>
> There are urban Burrowing Owls. The subspecies in Florida is
> often found on vacant lots in the cities. Leora and I
> tracked down
> a pair in Fort Myers some years back. These critters have been
> studied. There is even a book and 2006 film about them titled
> "Hoot".
>
>
> But I doubt that this owl has staked out the Renton Post Office
> Cherry Tree as its territory. There's a hole right there by
> the
> sidewalk, but it doesn't look like a burrow. It looks like a
> hole.
>
>
> Is the bird hunting? This from the Peregrine Fund "Burrowing
> Owls hunt throughout the 24-hour day, but are
> mainly crepuscular, hunting at dusk and dawn. They tend to
> hunt insects
> in daylight and small mammals at night."
>
>
> Is the Owl just sitting in the Cherry Tree day
> and night? I'm up for a sunset until total dark stakeout
> today.
> I currently have no night vision
> equipment.
>
>
> Larry
>
>
> Larry Schwitters
> Issaquah
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Larry

Larry Schwitters
Project Coordination
Audubon Vaux's Happening

vauxshappening.org

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