[obol] Re: Detection of Pygmy Owls in April, etc
- From: <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2023 21:35:28 -0700
Tanner / Stephen / etc,
Thanks for your insights & information. I didn’t realize how stubborn they
were. This was a lifer for me – I’ve heard Northern Pygmy-owls many times, but
had never seen one. When I finally got it into my sights, I could barely
believe it – I think many of us have had that experience.
I was wondering how “sticky” they are to a favorite branch. This particular
location seemed like a good one (as far as I know). I know many owls are
habitual that way; I wonder if this one is a regular at that particular spot?
Not sure if anyone has data or anecdotes on that.
-Jonathan
From: Tanner Martin <simonthetanner@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:simonthetanner@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [obol] Re: Detection of Pygmy Owls in April, etc
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2023 10:58:11 -0700
When a pygmy owl decides it's not going to budge, there is nothing that can
make it move short of actually grabbing it.
They used to hunt at our bird feeders in the Columbia Highlands of far NE
Washington when I was growing up, and I remember my mom trying to chase one
away. It was perched just high enough to be out of reach and she was yelling
and throwing snow at it, and it just sat there glowering at her. She actually
had to hit it with a snowball to finally persuade it to leave.
Another of our friends had one at their feeder, again perched just out of reach
on a pine branch. My friend grabbed the branch and shook it as hard as he could
– which meant the owl near the and of the branch was being thrown around a
lot - and that owl would not leave. My friend finally gave up.
Anyway, pygmy owls are one of the most stubborn creatures imaginable when they
want to be. While most people are better at detecting them than I am, I'm also
confident that even the best of us walk past far more of them than we detect,
and likely at much closer range than we realize.
Tanner
On Mar 27, 2023, at 9:54 AM, larspernorgren <larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx> > wrote:

Thermal sensitive technology is more appropriate than folks might imagine. I
once climbed a leafless maple in February in hopes of a better chance of
seeing a persistently tooting NOPO. It went briefly silent as l climbed to
about 5m above the forest floor. I was astounded when it resumed tooting, at
my eye level only 2m away. I might have sat there for an hour and never seen
it.
My friend Julio was hiking in Olympic NP and found a NOPO perched
similarly at eye level beside the trail. Dozens of hikers went by without
noticing it. A great case of cryptic plumage, like a Poorwill or Nighthawks.
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
------------------------------
Msg: #13 in digest
From: Stephen T Bird <isseki.ryotoku@xxxxxxxxx
<
mailto:isseki.ryotoku@xxxxxxxxx> >
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2023 11:57:41 -0700
Subject: [obol] Re: Detection of Pygmy Owls in April, etc
Before he knew better, my dad found one in the woods behind his childhood
home. He picked it up as one would a mediumm sized ball, sat it on his
shoulder, and there it stayed (voluntarily) as he walked around for the
day. He returned it to its branch before the Sun went down.
To hear this level of “stubbornness†repeated, it makes me wonder just how
common it is, or what might be known about daylight torpor?
Stephen
ps thanks to all for the IR posts. It has been very interesting, and may
finally provide the justification I’ve tried to avoid for getting one for
years. :)
Other related posts:
