FreeLists / tn-bird / [tn-bird] Re: Long-eared Owl on Camp Creek Bald

[Charlie <cmmbirds@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi folks,

Here is my 2 cents on Long-eared Owl habitat.  Maybe it's more like a
penny and a half...

I've only seen one, but from what I've been told by others, this one
acted very much according to standard protocol for Maryland wintering
Long-eareds.

It was in a VERY dense thicket - more like an over-sized fence row in
the middle of a 600 acre agricultural tract.  No conifer stands for
about 1.4 mile.  4 of us had to get on our hands and knees to crawl
in to see the bird.  After flushing it short distances 3 times, we
decided we'd annoyed it too much already, and backed off about 50
yards and waited for 15 minutes for it to show itself.

The bird was seen 4 days in a row, missed for 2 days, and seen once
more, all in the month of January.  Noone ever heard this bird make a
peep, despite several attempts by knowledgeable birders, and myself -
I memorized it from a tape.  Noone used a tape to lure the bird in,
as it was in a wildlife sanctuary where this is not allowed.  

I know nothing about this species on it's breeding grounds, but many
birds have different habitat preferences when wintering - and
especially in migration, which I'd bet this guy is doing.

Charlie
--- K Dean EDWARDS <kde@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> UMMM, Hadn't thought of that!
> 
> A couple of days ago, my Mother was trying to describe something
> she heard calling around their house in Jefferson City, TN.  She
> described it as one hoot given every second or two.  They have
> Barn Owls, and, many years ago, Great Horned Owls.  The habitat
> there is a fairly densely populated subdivision surrounded on all
> sides by agricultural (mainly pastural and corn) land.  Not many
> trees at all.  I admit, I'm not sure I know the habitat preferrence
> of Long-eared Owl (large coniferous forrests, right?) and didn't
> even consider it when she was describing the sound to me.
> 
> Dean Edwards
> Knoxville, TN
> kde@xxxxxxx
> 
> 
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=====
**************************************************
Charlie Muise, Senior Naturalist
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Townsend, TN  lat 35 deg, 38'23"  long 83 deg, 41'22"

"Do something. If it works, do it again. If it does not work, do something 
else. But above all else: Do Something." (Franklin Delano Roosevelt)

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=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
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-----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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To unsubscribe, send email to:
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with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
        jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx      (423) 764-3958
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