Tweeters,



I visited the Everett waterfront from about 3:30 to 5:00 PM today, and there
was no sign of the Burrowing Owl. It is annoying, to say the least, to think
that I may have driven all the way from Vancouver, BC only to miss the bird
by a couple of hours because of the actions of an irresponsible
photographer.



Let's hope that the owl does return to the area. I'm not sure whether
Burrowing Owls normally roost underground during the winter, but I noticed
that, although there was water in the bottom of the drain where the owl had
been perched earlier, there appeared to be room for a Burrowing Owl to roost
underground there. Maybe it's particularly important to avoid crowding the
bird if this is its usual roost site. (The owl could easily have been using
this area for weeks before it was discovered.)



Alas, my record of never having seen a Burrowing Owl in WA west of the
Cascades (despite numerous chases) remains unbroken.



Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC

contopus at telus.net







From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Tom
Mansfield
Sent: January-02-13 4:39 PM
To: Tweeters (tweeters at u.washington.edu)
Subject: [Tweeters] Everett Burrowing Bowl "Bumped"...



Hey Tweets - As my last stop this afternoon on a 6-day/20 county End of Year
swing through the state, I had planned to conclude on a high note with the
Everett BUOW. I arrived at 2:45 p.m. to find a handful of birders standing
around looking at the drain cover. Alas, about 90 minutes earlier, a guy
described as an underwater photographer (i.e. he wasn't wearing binoculars
and wasn't a birder!) with a "big lens" apparently got too close to the owl
and it flew away and out of sight. Hopefully, it will return tonight to its
previous location - but perhaps all of the attention the past couple of days
was just too much for it. I hope not!



Tom Mansfield home in Seattle.