Subject: [Tweeters] some good news from Eide Rd. - 2/15/15
Date: Feb 15 11:05:27 2015
From: Barbara Deihl - barbdeihl at comcast.net
Yes, it is true - there still are 2 Long-eared Owls at the Eide Rd. site (at least there were as of Wed. Feb.11), apparently both a female and a male. They have been seen and photographed. Several people have reported them to others, but not necessarily officially on any bird sites. One of the people to confirm this information, with his own sightings and photos, is Dennis Paulson.
Dennis feels that the dead LEOW, found at the Nature Conservancy reserve at Port Susan Bay, 1 1/2 mi. from the Eide site, was surely a different individual from the 2 that have been regularly seen and photographed in the past couple months at Eide. When the dead owl is necropsied, we may learn more about the cause of its death. Until then, there is no evidence that human presence on Eide Road had anything to do with it. That?s a bit of good news. Let?s hope that people will continue to view and photograph the owls from a respectful distance.
Short-eared Owls seem to be decreasing at the site, so perhaps all those predators have had a real effect on the voles that presumably attracted them there in the first place.
Thanks to Dennis for sharing his sightings and insights.
Barb Deihl
Matthews Beach Neighborhood - NE Seattle
barbdeihl at comcast.net