Thank you Kim. So sad the Barn Own couldn’t be saved. Winter is so hard on birds here. Kathryn
Sent from my iPad > On Jan 14, 2020, at 2:00 PM, Kim R Eckert <ecker...@gmail.com> wrote: > > For those who might be interested, here’s some additional information on the > now-deceased Barn Owl seen by many on January 11-12 in the Sax-Zim Bog along > St Louis CR 7. Some of the reports regarding this record have been somewhat > confusing and sketchy, and I wasn’t aware of some of the actual details until > yesterday... > > On the 11th, it was initially and separately identified by both Heidi Kirsch > Novak and myself in the late afternoon as it hunted the fields east of CR 7 > near Byrnes Greenhouse – i.e., about halfway between the "Twin Cities” of Sax > and Zim). It flew from north to south near Heidi’s position on Dibbell Rd, > and she recognized what it was and got some good flight images. At the same > time, I was with a Minn Birding Weekends group and others birding along CR 7 > about 1/2 mile to the south, when someone spotted a whitish-looking owl > flying in the distance from the north (i.e., from the direction of Dibbell > Rd) and called out Snowy Owl. (This ID was understandable since a Snowy had > been seen here the previous day.) Because of the distance and brevity of this > first view, its ID was uncertain until it reappeared in flight a short time > later and eventually flew a bit closer (though still at a distance) and at a > better angle. I then managed to find it in the scope while it was in flight, > could see that it was actually and surprisingly a Barn Owl, and called it out > to the others. > > Shortly thereafter Heidi arrived where we were, not knowing whether or not we > had seen the owl; nor did we know she had also seen it from Dibbell Rd. Other > birders in the area were then called who were able to arrive and see it > before sunset, including Frank Nicolletti (who was a few miles away with part > of the MBW group) and Clinton Nienhaus (who was leading a field trip for > Friends of Sax-Zim). Given the time of day, it wasn’t possible for birders > from Duluth, the Twin Cities, or elsewhere to arrive in time to see it then, > but it did reappear on the 12th when it was seen and photographed by many > others before it died en route to The Raptor Center in St Paul. Its cause of > death is still unknown at this time until there are lab tests and further > examination. > > I learned later that some of those on the scene on the 12th talked to the > property owners who reported thay had actually noticed the owl at first about > a month ago (!), as it was roosting in one of the sheds on their property. (I > don’t know whether or not they knew what species of owl they were seeing.) I > also learned recently that an owl was seen here briefly by birders on January > 1 and tentatively identified as a Barn Owl. They reported it to the Friends > of Sax-Zim Welcome Center (and perhaps others), but there apparently was no > follow-up on that sighting since the ID was uncertain and unconfirmed. > > By the way, by all accounts there were no reports that any birders or > photographers harassed the owl in any way – nor was there any real potential > for harassment, given the location and terrain where the owl was hunting. > > To my knowledge, this is the seventh Barn Owl record for northern Minnesota, > including one found dead near Duluth in January 1984. The other published > records were a February 1960 record from Duluth, and in Cook, Polk (the most > recent in 1986), Beltrami, and Hubbard counties. > > > Kim Eckert, Duluth > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
