Yes, in the Orillia area, I have received a large number of reports of Barred Owls, active in the daytime, but also at night. They are being seen particularly around bird feeding stations, where they seem to hunting the small rodents attracted to spilled seed. I have not received any reports of fatalities, nor of emaciation. (One person commented that she remembered a large number of Barred Owl sightings the last time there was a Great Gray irruption in this area.)
I watched one close to my own feeder in Washago, 15 KM north of Orillia, last Friday the 11th, for about two hours, right up until full dark. It did catch and swallow a rodent. It was present again on Sunday, chasing a red squirrel repeatedly. Janet Grand The Bird House Nature Company 108 Mississaga St. E. Orillia, Ontario, L3V 1V7 (705) 329-3939 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 8:19 AM Subject: [Ontbirds]FW: Barred owl mortalities in Renfrew County >-----Original Message----- >From: Inglis, Jeremy (MNR) >Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 2:50 PM >To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' >Subject: Barred owl mortalities > > > >Hi Mark, > > > >I thought I would go through you to see if the following was an appropriate >posting for Ontbirds. I work for the Pembroke District Ministry of Natural >Resources which takes in all of Renfrew County. For about the last 3 weeks >we have been receiving ever increasing reports of diurnal barred owl >activity at bird feeders where the owls are attempting to catch voles, red >squirrels and even ruffed grouse throughout daylight hours. Since last week >we have received 4 dead (non-roadkilled) barred owls at our office. Two were >found incidentally in forested areas and 2 have been found in close >proximity to bird feeders. All appear to be quite emaciated suggesting that >there is a lack of small mammals (or at least access to small mammals). >There is still quite a crust on our snow (enough to support the weight of a >deer) so I imagine that owls, and other predators, are having trouble >accessing prey. Just to be sure, we will be sending some owls to Guelph for >necropsy but I imagine the diagnosis will be starvation. > > > >I'm not sure if there are any data on barred owl weights but I have been >attempting to collect a weight on dead owls whenever possible, as follows: > >1) BARR: Found below bird feeder Feb 15'05: 545.7 gm. > >2) BARR: Found below bird feeder Mar 3 '05: 498.8 gm. > >3) BARR: Incidental in forested area Mar 5 '05: 450 gm. > >4) BARR: Incidental in forested area Mar 6 '05: 385.2 gm. > >The following are road-kills for comparison. > >5) BARR: Road-kill Feb 28 '05: 687.5 gm. > >6) BARR: Road-kill Feb 28 '05: 554.9 gm. > > > >I just received another report of a dead owl at a bird feeder and I will >collect data on it as well. All of the above are distributed throughout the >county. Presumably, barred owls are not as nomadic as this year's Great >Grays and do not follow prey as the GGO's have done. Interestingly, although >we have had some Great grays this winter in agricultural areas closer to the >Ottawa River, most appeared to have moved south to the Ottawa area, where >conditions and prey are presumably more favourable. With the onset of the >breeding season, barred owls are probably even more inclined to remain >within territories anyway. > >Just thought I would pass this along in case a similar phenomenon is >occurring elsewhere. If there are declines in this years owl surveys, this >type of mortality might be considered. > > > >Thank you, > > > >Jeremy > > > >Jeremy Inglis > >Fish and Wildlife Technical Specialist > >Ministry of Natural Resources > >Pembroke District > >31 Riverside Drive > >Pembroke, ON K8A 8R6 > >Tel. 613-732-5590 > >Fax. 613-732-2972 > >Email. [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >_______________________________________________ >ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. >Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] >To join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://mailman.hwcn.org/mailman/listinfo/ontbirds >ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm
