Last night was a gorgeous night to be out owling, with clear skies, cold
temperatures, little wind, and the barometer high and rising slightly. I
went out owling primarily in support of the Seattle CBC, but also hit a few
other locations on Bainbridge Island. (There is but a tiny portion of
Bainbridge Island in the Seattle Count Circle, but it is in good owl
habitat.)



The highlight of the night was at 0630 inside the Seattle CBC area when I
heard what I instantly filed as a juvenile Great Horned Owl (GHOW) calling
the "harnk" call, seemingly in response to my attempts to solicit a response
from a Barred Owl. However, this being the end of December, a food begging
GHOW didn't make sense to me, so I went through a number of owl calls (Barn
Owl, Barred Owl, Short-eared owl) trying to get a response that fit my
expectations. The bird repeatedly called from the area, seemingly from up
high and or distant, moving around quite a bit. Finally, at near 0700, an
adult female GHOW called, and the juvie GHOW went crazy with calls, flying
around and calling much more persistently and loudly. I never would have
suspected that a GHOW would still have young from the previous season
(presumably) hanging around and apparently still being cared for by an
adult. Two months from now and the adult should be on eggs.



Previously in the Seattle CBC area, after an hour of effort, I got a
response from a Northern Saw-whet Owl that made several passes at me, the
last of which was from behind me and I felt my hair part as the bird passed
over at 0430.



Outside of the Count Circle, I had three Barred Owls, two more Northern
Saw-whet Owls, and another GHOW up near the Bloedel Reserve. The West Sound
Wildlife Shelter has an educational male GHOW named Orion that calls. His
calls attracted a female GHOW, and the two of them were communicating back
and forth. This appears to be one of those doomed relationships.



In all, a great night to be out. (The day wasn't bad either, with a total of
81 species at Restoration Point).

Happy New Year to All.



J. Acker

owler at sounddsl.com

Bainbridge Island, WA