Unfortunately, there's nothing that WDFW can do about the dead owl. In the hopes that the owl is still in reasonably good condition (not rotten), I am reposting my suggestion on handling dead birds with the consent of the Burke Museum.

>From time-to-time I have seen discussion lamenting the death of birds that fly into windows. Unfortunately, this is something that occurs occasionally when birds come to feeders. As a retired biologist who spent quite a few years working in museums, I was aware that these birds could become specimens in research collection. Consequently, the occasional bird that hits my windows ends up in UW?s Burke Museum. An acquaintance of mine is the curator of birds at the Burke Museum, and I asked if he would like me to post procedures and contact information for donating dead birds. The response was a resounding yes.

If you have a freshly killed bird in good condition (e.g. not chewed by a cat) that you would like to donate to the Burke Museum I suggest the following:

? On a card print the following information CLEARLY:
o Species of bird (common name is probably ok, I usually use both common and scientific)
o Collected by ___________ (your name)
o Collected on ___________ (date)
o Your contact information, such as phone and e-mail, in case the person filling out the formal museum tag has questions.
o Location Personally I provide several types of descriptions as different museums/researchers use different approaches. While not everything will be permanently recorded, providing great detail will help address any questions.
? City and State
? GPS coordinates (from your cell phone or tablet ? Free apps I use are ?GPS Status? for Android and ?Commander Compass Lite? for the iPhone)
? Township and Range (http://www.earthpoint.us/TownshipsSearchByLatLon.aspx)
? Distance and direction from the nearest cross streets.
o Any notes you think might be relevant.
? Put the card and the bird in a zip lock bag and freeze it (my wife accepted years ago that living with a biologist meant strange things in the freezer).
? Contact one of the Collections Managers at the Burke Museum, Rob Faucett (rfaucett at uw.edu) and/or Chris wood (puffinus at uw.edu).

If you don?t live close enough to the Burke Museum, the same process will apply to all museums. You might check colleges and universities near you.

Good birding,
Wally Davis
Snohomish
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-----Original Message-----
From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Chris McNally
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2017 3:44 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Dead Short Eared Owl at Eide Road this morning

I was up at Eide Road this morning to photograph the short eared owls and harriers. I was about 25 feet out in the grass from the main parking lot watching some harriers in flight. I looked down and found a dead short eared owl a few feet away from me. One wing was stuck out and it appears to have been shot. I looks like it has been dead for a bit. I showed it to other photographers. I have it bagged and on ice and will contact the WDFW on Monday. This saddens me!!!

Sent from my iPhone
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