Kelly, Tweeters,

While I have no evidence beyond your anecdote below, I'd like to think
our Western Screech Owls could be adapting to life with Barred Owls that
occasionally prey on them and presumably compete to some degree for
smaller prey. After all the Eastern Screech Owl co-exists with the
Barred in the east.

I'll need more reports though, before making more of your suggestion of
a resurgence of our Western Screech Owls.

-Stewart.

Stewart Wechsler

Sharing Knowledge and Enthusiasm for Plant, Animal and Fungi and the
mutually supportive local communities that we humans share with them
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On 11:59 AM, Kelly McAllister wrote:
>
> A co-worker, and close friend, has been hearing a Screech Owl recently
> , at his home in west Olympia. I heard Screech Owls around west
> Olympia and Tumwater in the early 1980s when I moved back to Olympia
> after a stint in College. Haven't heard one around here since then. I
> wonder if there might be a resurgence, of sorts, going on. I really
> thought there were in serious decline around here. O.K., maybe I'm
> getting carried away. It's really not clear what the bird at the
> athletic complex might be.
>
> Kelly McAllister
>
> *From:*tweeters *On Behalf Of *Rick Wright
> *Sent:* Saturday, March 05, 2011 2:06 PM
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] Re: poetry; scrub jays; mystery sounds
>
>
> There's always this: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=12805
> (but consider the source).
> "California" [Western] Scrub-Jays seem fairly well ensconced in
> Vancouver, BC, with at least four birds in the area.
> The mystery sound--at dusk, snipe-like, far from water--may well be a
> Western Screech-Owl.
> Best wishes for a birdful weekend,
> --
> Rick Wright
> Tucson and Vancouver
>
> Senior Leader, WINGS
> http://wingsbirds.com, http://birdaz.com/blog
>


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