Today, I posed some Great Gray Owl questions to Dr. James Duncan, the=20 Winnipeg owl researcher who also does work in Roseau County. Here is=20 the exchange. Jim Williams Wayzata
=3D=3D=3D=3D Hi Jim, Good to hear from you. I attempted to answer your questions below in=20 CAPS the best I can, recognizing that the information I am providing is=20= not from the main MN owl invasion area. Things could be quite different=20= there regarding great grays and meadow voles compared to Roseau County=20= and southern Manitoba! Cheers, Jim ________________________________________ Dr. James R. Duncan, Manager Biodiversity Conservation Section Wildlife and Ecosystem Protection Branch Manitoba Conservation Box 24, 200 Saulteaux Crescent Winnipeg, MB R3J 3W3=A0 Wildlife Web Site=A0 www.manitoba.ca/conservation/wildlife =A0 CDC Web Site=A0 http://web2.gov.mb.ca/conservation/cdc/ Can we expect the owls to return in numbers this winter? YES - OUR LONG-TERM WINTER DATA SUPPORT WHAT I CALL AN "ECHO EFFECT",=20 IN WHICH THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT TIME SERIES CORRELATION IN WINTER NUMBERS=20= OF GREAT GRAY OWLS FROM YEAR TO YEAR IS THAT IN THE YEAR IMMEDIATELY=20 AFTER AN INVASION/IRRUPTION YEAR, THERE IS TYPICALLY HALF AS MANY GREAT=20= GRAY OWLS AS THE INVASION/IRRUPTION YEAR. How did the owls fair on the breeding territories this spring and summer? Was their a normal pattern of breeding? Did the birds enjoy breeding success? NO GREAT GRAY OWLS NESTING IN THE NEST STRUCTURES I MONITOR IN MB AND=20 ROSEAU COUNTY, MN, IN SUMMER 2005. How is the prey population for these birds, spring, summer, and present? I ONLY MONITOR SMALL MAMMALS ONCE A YEAR (OCTOBER) IN MY MB AND MN=20 (ROSEAU COUNTY) STUDY AREAS, AND ONLY IN HABITATS WHERE GREAT GRAY OWLS=20= ARE KNOWN TO HUNT. THE GREAT GRAYS IN MY STUDY AREA EAT >90% MEADOW=20 VOLES, THEREFORE I AM COMMENTING ON NUMBERS OF THAT PREY SPECIES ONLY.=20= THIS YEAR THE NUMBER OF MEADOW VOLES ON MY STUDY AREAS WERE STILL VERY=20= LOW, BUT APPEAR TO INCREASING SLOWLY, A NORMAL PATTERN. I EXPECT=20 MEADOW NUMBERS IN MY STUDY AREA TO BE MORE NUMEROUS NEXT YEAR, AND=20 COINCIDENTALLY TO HAVE OWLS NESTING IN 2006. What other comments might you offer? THE RESULTS OBSERVED ON OUR STUDY AREAS SHOW A NORMAL CYCLIC PATTERN OF=20= THE FLUCTUATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF BREEDING GREAT GRAY OWLS AND THEIR=20 TYPICAL PREY, THE MEADOW VOLE.
