Michelle,
The barred owl used to be rare here, but no longer -- and actually, that's not a good thing.? Used to be, our region was covered with old-growth forests, haunt of the spotted owl; but as these were cut and replaced with younger, second-growth forests, the barred owl, formerly a mainly Eastern species, has found suitable habitat this side of the mountains and has become one of our most common owls.? This is bad news for the remaining spotted owls, as the two species easily hybridize.? If current trends continue, I fear the spotted owl really will become extinct, partly through habitat loss, but partly through being genetically absorbed into the barred owl.
Jason HernandezBremertonjason.hernandez74 at yahoo.com


Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 12:36:18 -0700From: Michelle LaMoustique <lamoustique at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Tweeters] Barred owl
To: "tweeters at u.washington.edu" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
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Being relatively new to the area I don't know what is common here or not. I've seen? 9 new birds since moving to Vancouver in July. The Barred Owl I heard in the trees behind my place in Vancouver (the Salmon Creek estates) was a real thrill for me. I didn't see it, but I'm on the lookout for it now.


Michelle Maani
Vancouver, WA