Hello, Tweeters,

Curiously, W. Screech-Owls continue to persist at sites around Sequim
and the north Olympic Peninsula, despite Barred Owls in the area. We
still have screech-owls at sites in the Olympic foothills above
Sequim that we've known about for the last nine years, within a mile
or two (maybe closer?) from active Barred Owl pairs. One screech-owl
pair was tootin' together at their place last month on our most
recent Owl Prowl in the Owlympics on Feb 19. We heard Barred Owls on
the same trip, although a few miles away. At Railroad Bridge Park
just west of Sequim, we've found screech-owl fledglings on the
Dungeness River Audubon Center's Wed morning bird walks in two of the
last three years, in an area where we've also seen Barred Owls (and
hear Great Horned Owls).

True, we don't hear screech-owls at some sites where they have been
in the past, but we have added at least one new screech-owl site in
the last year that we didn't know about before. Some local
observers have commented to me about seeing and hearing more Barred
Owls, and some also say they don't hear screech-owls any more, but
some screech-owls are still here. The persistent ones seem to be in
thick riparian habitats, usually alder thickets in mixed woods, but
that's typical screech-owl habitat around here anyway.

On the Clallam Co. Migratory Bird Count in May, screech-owls have
been recorded every year for the last 14 years, including five birds
in 2010. Barred Owls have also been recorded every year for the last
10 years, so they're clearly here as well (and reeking havoc on
Spotted Owls besides, as documented in Olympic National Park).

So what gives? Maybe the Barreds will eventually get the screech-
owls, but there's still a reasonable number of the little guys in
this neck of the woods, so there may be more to this story than we
know. For example, what's the role of Great Horned Owls in all this?
How do GHOW interact with Barreds and screech-owls?

Bob Boekelheide
Sequim


From: "Wayne Weber"
Date: March 7, 2011 10:06:37 AM PST
To: "TWEETERS"
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Western Screech Owl recovery???


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.

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

-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Bletsch
Sent: March-07-11 7:45 AM
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.
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.

Gary Bletsch


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20110308/c7455e13/attachment.htm