I'll add another sighting to the Eugene area Barred Owl incursion. Two
weeks ago we had the first one in 22 years here on our little acre a couple
of miles west of town (yard bird #151). They may be eating the chicken
fueled rat boom in town but ours went for the chickens themselves. A
couple of our bantams had disappeared 3 or 4 days prior to my seeing the
owl. The owl was perched on a limb a couple of feet above the chicken coop
when first found. We haven't seen the owl since. Our property is atypical
habitat for them and it was likely just wandering through.
Mark Nikas
On Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 10:15 PM Alan Contreras <acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Eugene has been sloshing in Barred Owls this fall. Not just the usual ones
up on the ridgeline trails but several all over town.
We have had something of a rat issue in recent years owing to the
expanding presence of chickens kept in the city. I have wondered if the
food supply for Barred Owl has been unusually good.
Alan Contreras
On Nov 11, 2019, at 10:06 PM, Steve Jaggers <sjaggers280@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I am thinking it has been a very good breeding year as there have also
been many reports/photos of Barred Owls showing up on the Birding Oregon
Facebook page.
Steve Jaggers
