Tweeters,

No sign of a Western Screech-Owl recovery in southwestern BC (i.e., Vancouver area). They were still fairly common here in the early 1970s, but have declined precipitously since then. I am aware of only one locality within 50 miles of Vancouver where Screech-Owls have been reported in the last year or two. The timing of this decline coincides with the rapid increase of Barred Owls in the area, and I'm convinced that the relationship is a causal one.

Interestingly, Screech-Owl populations east of the Cascades in BC (different subspecies from the coastal ones)-- although they have declined greatly in the last 50-60 years and are on the Canadian "endangered" list-- seem to have levelled off in the last decade or so. They are still easy to find in regular localities in the Okanagan Valley. Barred Owls are not a factor east of the Cascades, because Barred Owls in the BC Interior are not found in the low-altitude cottonwood stands inhabited by Western Screech-Owls. Most of the Screech-Owl decline there resulted from habitat loss.

As others have pointed out, Eastern Screech-Owls seem quite able to coexist with Barred Owls, but this does not seem to hold for Western Screech-Owls; Barred Owls are a new factor in their ecology. I think Western Screech-Owls are probably in trouble throughout western WA and OR (although less so in OR), and I hope they are able to adapt before they disappear completely.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net




-----Original Message-----
From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Gary Bletsch
Sent: March-07-11 7:45 AM
To: tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Western Screech Owl recovery

Dear Tweeters,

The topic of a possible resurgence or recovery in Western Screech Owls came up on Tweeters the other day. I don't remember the specifics, but my two cents would be that they seem harder to find today in Skagit County than they used to be.

For example, they used to be reliable near Concrete in the 1990's, but I have not been able to find them there, despite many searches, over the last dozen or so years.

I also used to bump into one now and then while owling in various places in the Upper Skagit, even sometimes just while birding at dusk. That does not happen anymore.

A pair of them near Hamilton turned up a few years ago, but they seem to have abandoned that area.

I have never found one west of Hamilton, although I am told that one did show up at Milltown near Conway a few years ago.

The only reliable place I know of for this species in Skagit County is Illabot Creek Road, and that is a long drive for almost anyone. Last I heard, the powers that be were considering whether or not to allow that road to fall apart and return to nature. That might help the owls, but it would make it that much harder for birders to find them.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA garybletsch at yahoo.com Mentre che li occhi per la fronda verde
ficcava ?o s? come far suole
chi dietro a li uccellin sua vita perde, lo pi? che padre mi dicea: ?Figliuole,
vienne oramai, ch? ?l tempo che n?? imposto
pi? utilmente compartir si vuole?.



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