I tried sending this to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas listserv but it doesn't appear to have been received and sent out yet (?). My apologies if you are on both listservs and receive this message twice.
Karl Konze Guelph, Ontario ******************** Hi all, Tonight (March 20, 2004) while owling in my breeding bird atlas square in Wellington County (17NJ64), I was fortunate enough to hear both Long-eared Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl. In fact, I had both species at the same location! Both were calling between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. This was the first time I have heard Long-eared Owl and one of only a few times I have heard Northern Saw-whet Owl. At first, the Long-eared Owl flew in to the edge of the road without responding to our tape. We played the tape several more times with no response. Finally, we heard low, single hoots repeated about a half dozen times some distance away. It was indeed a Long-eared Owl. After it became silent again we played Boreal Owl (just because other species sometimes respond) and Northern Saw-whet Owl. Almost instantly a Saw-whet responded from the opposite direction across the road. As we played the tape a few more times it quickly came closer, until it swooped past our heads and land in a tree nearby, calling incessantly. We easily had good looks at this tiny owl with our flashlight. It flew down at us on one more occasion, wheeling away at the last moment. Needless to say, we were pretty excited to get both owls, target species we had hoped for, but never really thought we would get. The Saw-whet was still calling when we drove away. We also had one other Northern Saw-whet Owl respond at another location in my square (10:20 p.m.). Again, it responded almost instantly. This time however, it did not fly in closer and it stopped responding after a couple minutes of calling. We ended our trip at 10:40 p.m. It was quite cold, and the winds had picked up considerably making listening for owls problematic. Both locations we had these owls were in mixed swamps with quite a few conifers (Eastern White Cedar, Tamarack, etc.), adjacent to more open wetlands. Interestingly, we had no other owls whatsoever. We even missed Eastern Screech-Owl at a location I have never missed them before. Although all three owls were observed in suitable habitat, can I assume they were breeding or could they still be migrants on their way back north? I suppose another few visits over the next few weeks will be necessary to know for sure. Any thoughts? Good owling, Karl Konze Guelph, Ontario
