Dear Jamie and Tweeters,

I don't know.....looking at my book ("Bird Feathers", Scott and McFarland) and checking those 2 awesome resources that you shared Jamie,
I can certainly see why Valerie would say Great Gray Owl, and I am leaning that way myself.
They are pretty similar, which makes sense.
When looking at the Great Gray's primaries, the banding looks more blotchy, not as crisp and distinct as on the Great Horned. And the pictures shared by Valerie seem to be more like that blotchiness. (apparently Siri says that's not a real word).
But I'm no expert.
Could you please give more detail as to why you say Great Horned vs. Great Gray?
Thanks for the learning opportunity,
Faye

Faye McAdams Hands
zest4parus at hotmail.com
Belfair, WA

"Life is simple - eat, sleep, bird."


From: owler at sounddsl.com
To: valhikes at gmail.com; tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] feather ID
Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2016 12:50:38 -0700
CC:

Valerie & Tweeters, Here is are two great resources for IDing feathers: http://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/http://digitalcollections.pugetsound.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/slaterwing I believe what you found was the leading primary to the left wing of an adult Great Horned Owl. -Jamie J. Ackerowler at sounddsl.comBainbridge Island, WA From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Valerie Anderson
Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2016 12:20 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] feather ID Hi Tweets,This week I was backpacking in the Teanaway region (Bean Creek/Stafford Creek/Navaho Pass), which is just NE of Cle Elum. I found a feather right in the middle of the trail, at about 4000 or 5000 feet elevation. Using my feather identification book, we concluded that it belongs to a Great Gray Owl....but I didn't know they visited that area. I have been unsuccessfully seeking out these owls for the past few years and it would be so ironic that I would stumble across one of their feathers when I wasn't even thinking about them!Any insight to confirm or reject this identification? It is about 10" in length, and has all the characteristics of an owl feather. Sorry the photos are not the greatest. Here's the link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/64943435 at N07/ThanksValerie AndersonOlympia, WA
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