I braved the below 0 (Fahrenheit) temperatures this morning along with Bruce Di Labio and Marilyn MacIvor and her husband. The south approach is still open but just barely.
By the time we got separated we had found 1 Boreal Owl and 5 Saw-whets and Bruce had counted at least 19 Long-eared Owls. I went deeper into the woods and found the second Boreal in it's typical territory, and then a third. The third one was not in a usual location and was extremely well hidden. I was lucky enough to catch just a glimpse of tail feathers at first. I ran off to try and locate Bruce but I guess he had gone by that point. As I continued my search, I came to the area where I had seen the second Boreal but didn't see it. I checked the surrounding area more thoroughly but couldn't find it so I thought perhaps it had moved, although there were no other footprints than my own in the area. Just as I was leaving that section I came across a pile of feathers and a closer inspection left no doubt that it was the remains of the Boreal Owl. Now, nature is nature, and it doesn't always behave the way we'd like. Several years ago we had a Northern Goshawk that decimated the Long-eared Owls that season, leaving piles of feathers here and there. Another year we lost several Saw-whet Owls to a Barred Owl, but none of these had quite the same impact as this morning's find. I think the difference is that with the Boreals being few in number and having established their wintering territories within the woods, we get to know them and their personalities more and they become more like pets in that we know them as individuals. So I felt a real sense of loss in discovering the remains of this beautiful bird just after I had seen it less than an hour previously. What happened? Well, I haven't seen any Goshawk in the neighbourhood this year and although I got a brief glance of a Coopers hawk a couple of weeks ago down on the south shore, I haven't seen it around the Owl Woods either. While there are numerous Long-eared Owls around, they are not daytime hunters for the most part and there have been many times in the past 30 years where there have been large numbers of Long-eared, Saw-whets and Boreal Owls and no evidence of interaction or predation. The only time I have seen anything close is once when a Long-eared Owl landed in a tree close to a Saw-whet, the Saw-whet was startled and took off to a different perch, but there was never any real threat. There have been quite a few Rough-legged Hawks overhead but I think it unlikely one would have found it or taken it. The Short-eared Owls, however, have been very active in and around the area in question and have been roosting in these same trees, so that is my best guess at this time. Interestingly, the last time we saw this particular owl while the Short-eareds were active, it seemed not to be concerned about our presence at it's roost, but was constantly watching overhead as the Short-eareds were flying around above the woods. This is the first predation of a Boreal Owl that I have seen, and it has been years since the last Saw-whet met such an end. Anyway, the count is now 2 Boreal Owls and 8 (?9) Saw-whet Owls, 19 Long-eared Owls and about 24 Short-eared Owls. Alex. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
