[obol] Re: burrowing owl, Oregon Wildlife website.
- From: Richard Leinen <rick.lumen@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: stephaniehazen17@xxxxxxxxx, "obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2013 21:21:03 -0800
Here’s a link to a short video clip I took while watching the Burrowing Owl;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9ElG6hK_To
I was parked across the road from it and took this from my pickup. I was using
a 600mm lens with a cropped sensor D7100 so I was able to view very closely
from that distance (10 meters according to the exif info).
Not to make light of a serious subject, but notice the stress my presence
inflicts on the bird.
Rick
Wilsonville
PS: The only time it showed any alarm while I watched was when a Northern
Harrier swooped down over it. It took cover in its burrow, I assume, but came
back out a short time later. Enormous farm pickups speeding by, probably less
than a handful of feet from it, didn’t seem to faze it.
On Dec 29, 2013, at 6:54 AM, Stephanie Hazen <stephaniehazen17@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> http://www.owhf.org
>
> Click on link above to be taken to the website of Oregon Wildlife. Among
> other things, they have an excellent lecture series. (they can also use your
> year end donations right now). Ray and I went during 2012 to hear Nick
> Myatt, from ODFW, give an excellent presentation on burrowing owls. At that
> time biologists were just getting new information about the migration of
> burrowing owls, by using new satellite technology. Using satellite, a person
> can sit at home and track a bird all over the world from a computer. By
> comparison, old technology using radio collars, required following an animal
> closely in the field listening for beeps on a radio.
>
> At the time of Nick's talk, there were not many satellite collars in use on
> burrowing owls, and I hope more are being used right now. The point I am
> making is that Nick showed a map of migration of burrowing owls. Some don't
> migrate. Some go north south. Some go east west. Some go thousands of
> miles, some a few hundred. And the routes they take are not the same every
> migration.
>
> One major limiting factor for the success of burrowing owls is the
> availability of nest burrows. Because of the extirpation of badgers in many
> areas, nest sites are at a premium.
>
> Nick outlined a project in eastern Oregon, where people were burying
> corrugated black plastic tubing, creating artificial nest sites. The birds
> were finding and occupying the tubes while they were still on the truck.
>
> I found Nick's facebook site last night and sent him a note asking if he
> would consider giving another burrowing owl presentation for Salem Audubon.
> I will let you all know if another presentation materializes.
>
> I will digress with a personal observation, and I hope it is not too tedious
> for some readers.
>
> Being a photographer myself, my enjoyment of birding has another slant. In
> order to get a decent photo of a bird, your camera needs to be close and the
> subject needs to sit still long enough to obtain a photograph. Think big
> lens, trail camera, photo blind, stay still, or stay in the car. The subject
> of your photograph needs to be engaged in something more important than
> fleeing from you or you need to remain unnoticed. Foraging sites, nest
> sites, roosts, mating and display sites all come to mind. So, if you are
> going to visit a nest, roost, lek, pond, or feeding site, try to think from
> the animal's point of view. Just because the burrowing owl allows approach
> is not to say it is tame. My interpretation is that holes in the ground are
> at a premium, and the owl is programmed to stay near one. People take
> advantage of this innate behavior of the animal, to see and photograph the
> owl.
>
> In order to continue living, the owl needs to remain unnoticed by its
> predators and competitors……it needs to rest, eat, stay warm and dry.
>
> If obol is the reason for the Linn county owl attracting visitors, then obol
> needs to be a venue for reminding new comers and old timers of acceptable
> human behavior around the animals we all hope will remain with us for a long
> time to come.
>
> Stephanie Hazen
> Salem
>
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