Tweets,



About 14 months ago, I and a companion spotted a LEOW roosting out in the
open in a brush line just west of the Eide Road parking lot. We were able
to approach the owl within 30 feet and get excellent pictures, but withdrew
after a short period of time to keep from disturbing the bird any more than
we had. I posted the sighting on Tweeters without specific instructions on
the exact location and asked if anyone was interested, I would give them
specifics. I did this in order to keep casual observers from overwhelming
the bird and driving it away. The bird was observed by several in the next
week to my knowledge, but no LEOW's were reported later until the latest
sightings.



Unfortunately, what I feared would happen has happened with the 2 birds that
have been roosting out in the open for the past few weeks. While I applaud
efforts to bring wildlife awareness to the general public, Eide Road is a
fragile place I fear, and it's become, from all reports, a circus. This
does the owls no good from my perspective, and as responsible birders, I
think we should take precautions to keep what is happening at Eide Road from
recurring - especially involving news stories on local TV. These are wild
animals in the wild, and not in a zoo. In the future, I think folks need to
think about rare and/or interesting sightings and broadcasting the exact
locations to the outside world. I don't want to sound elitist here, but I
would council considering the bird's well-being first.



I hate it, but closing the area to observers makes sense, unfortunately.



Regards,



Charlie Desilets

Mukilteo