Certainly the idea of shooting Barred owls has never appealed to me as a birder/falconer. It has even less appeal to me as a "realist."
Possibly, if the species had a limited range on the open tundra, a meaningful change in population balance might be achievable, but as anyone that has visited Spotted Owl habitat knows, shooting is not a useful or practical solution.
The original and most revered expert on the Spotted Owl, Dr. Eric Forsman stated:
"You could shoot barred owls until you're blue in the face," he said. "But unless you're willing to do it forever, it's just not going to work."
Forsman supported the shooting of Barred Owls on a limited basis only to determine if there is a cause-effect relationship between the two species.
Not only can we not "do it forever " but I submit that we can not effectively do it at all. Eliminating and continuing to exclude Barred Owls from even a small area will prove unbelievably difficult and expensive.
Nature is full of surprises, and often beyond our control. No one likes to see a bird decline, but the Barred Owl is a beautiful and amazing species in its own right.
Mark Borden
Coupeville, WA.
Sent from my iPhone
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On Oct 8, 2023, at 12:02 PM, tweeters-request at mailman11.u.washington.edu wrote:
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Today's Topics:
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1. YIKES!!: THE GUARDIAN: At least 1, 000 birds died from
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colliding with one Chicago building in one day (Dan Reiff)
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2. Spotted Owls: THE GUARDIAN: ?No easy answer?: the endangered
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owls that can only be saved by killing other owls (Dan Reiff)
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3. Large Flock of Bonaparte's Gulls at Dumas Bay Sanctuary
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(Tom Benedict)
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4. Bird ID Help - Thank You (jimbetz at jimbetz.com)
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5. Yet Another Snow Goose Report ... (jimbetz at jimbetz.com)
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6. Re: Bird ID Help - Thank You (HAL MICHAEL)
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7. Re: Bird ID Help - Thank You (jimbetz at jimbetz.com)
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8. Two Questions (Tom and Carol Stoner)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Message: 1
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Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2023 14:05:18 -0700
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From: Dan Reiff <dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com>
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To: Tweeters <tweeters at uw.edu>
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Subject: [Tweeters] YIKES!!: THE GUARDIAN: At least 1, 000 birds died
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from colliding with one Chicago building in one day
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