You don’t need to see an owl to meet one

  • By Sharon Wootton
  • Friday, May 29, 2015 12:40pm
  • Life

It was a different kind of last call, not from a bartender but an owl.

I was taking an Owl Prowl field trip during the Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest, led by Heather McPherrson, wildlife biologist for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

After a lot of invitations through an audio caller, the only owl some of us had heard was a great horned owl far in the distance.

At 10:30 p.m. in the Eagle Creek area just northeast of Leavenworth, McPherrson told us that we were out of luck for the night. No sooner had she said those words than a female barred owl voiced its baritone hoot maybe 50 yards away. A male, deeper in the evergreens, later joined in.

“Owls are very territorial. That’s the reason that we broadcast. If an owl thinks there’s another owl in his territory, it wants to locate you and ‘ask’ you to leave,” McPherrson said.

Anne Mitchell of Everett took the Owl Prowl.

“I went in thinking we’re going to see or hear an owl. I was just surprised and delighted (when the barred owl called). I had all but given up,” she said.

Although focused on the two owls most likely to be heard — great horned, barred — McPherrson had tracks of other owls: barn, flammulated, Western screech, Northern pygmy, long-eared and saw-whet.

McPherrson has made many owl surveys, which are critical to establishing which owls and how many are in a specific area. That information is needed for decision-making on whether specific owl populations are in danger or if there’s a need for habit preservation.

“We do surveys multiple times in an area. If they don’t respond the first time we don’t assume non-occupancy,” McPherrson said. She makes at least three calls before moving on.

The range of barred owls was once in the East but they’ve migrated into Canada, over the Rockies and south to California.

“It’s the main threat to spotted owls. They’re genetically similar. They can interbreed with spotted owls. Their habitat is generally wider and there’s greater variety to the trees they nest in and the things that they eat. They’re larger and they outcompete and the spotted owls are likely to move out of the area,” McPherrson said.

“They have smaller home ranges than the spotted owl. You can fit five barred owls in an area that is home to a spotted owl. They eat such a wide variety of food that they don’t need as much space,” she said.

Birding field trips bring no guarantees.

“We saw a barred owl the next night,” McPherrson said.

Birdwatchers on a daytime Bird Fest field trip were waiting on a porch for the rain to let up when someone spotted three baby saw-whet owls.

Mitchell understands the philosophical approach to birding.

“We have no control over nature. You can’t predict where a creature is going to be or how animated it will be,” she said.

But you can always hope for the last call.

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.