An interesting discussion from Clay. However, as I suggested in my earlier
email, Spotted Owl seems more likely and fits the brief description given
by Dale. Kelly's discussion clinches it for me: Spotted Owl [Of course, we
never will know, will we?].
Keith Arnold
Bryan/TAMU
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 10:26 PM, Clay Taylor <Clay.Taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
wrote:
Dale et al -
A different "spin" on your Lake Balmorhea owl report, as well as the
Cottonwood Campground report. (BTW - did I miss any further details from
Mr. Backer as to the ID details for the Barred Owl - seen, heard, etc.?)
Why not Mottled Owl?
Preposterous, right? Maybe not.
OK, so Sungrebe and Wood-Rail have occurred at Bosque del Apache NWR in
New Mexico. Nobody knows how or why. I did a quick check of range maps
and used Google Earth to draw the direct line from their northernmost range
point to BdA NWR. The Sungrebe was about 850 miles north of its range, and
the Wood Rail was 700+ miles. That's a fer piece to travel over a LOT of
purely WRONG habitat.
Now, we know that Mottled Owl has been recorded at Bentsen Rio Grande
State Park, and one map shows its range in Mexico to be pretty close to the
LRGV border. From that spot to Lake Balmorhea is almost exactly 500 miles.
While your Balmorhea owl could indeed have been a wayward Barred from the
East , or Spotted from the Northwest (the Guads are 100 miles away) or even
due West in Mexico, I think that Mottled is certainly not out of the realm
of possibility, especially with the Sungrebe and Wood Rail as examples of
even more extreme (and bizarre) wanderings through that region.
Ditto the flight lines to Cottonwood - 200 miles flying south for Spotted
from the Guads, 350 miles flying west for Barred from Lake Corpus Christi,
OR 400 miles north for Mottled and DURING SPRING MIGRATION.
Food for thought.....
David, are you still in the Park?
Clay Taylor
TOS Life Member
Calallen (Corpus Christi) TX
Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
401-965-9064
-----Original Message-----
From: texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Fred Collins
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 9:30 PM
To: lsdolls@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: TexBirds Posting Email <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [texbirds] Re: Barred Owls in the Trans-Pecos
I agree Dale it's possible. You and Carolyn may have seen one as well. But
a Mottled Owl has no ear tufts and brown eyes and is equally close. It
might find Trans Pecos environs more like home than a Barred would. Either
way, such owls should not be so easily dismissed.
Fred Collins
Sent from my iPhone
On May 23, 2017, at 9:11 PM, Dale Ohl <lsdolls@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:or
Tex-Birders: I read with interest comments about Robert Becker's
sighting for Cottonwood Campground regarding the Barred Owl.
I would like to mention another undocumented sighting in the late 1990's
at Lake Balmorhea. I either no longer have the notes on the sighting
have them buried somewhere.that area has been accessible often
Carolyn Ohl (my SIL and long-time birding accomplice) and I spent many
days birding BBNP and up to Lake Balmorhea. One day we went to L.B.
(Lake Balmorhea). We were working our way entirely around the lake
which could be done there at that time (not sure you can now.) We
stopped the car what would be on the south side of the canal in a low
lying dry 'creek bed', it's actually a little peninsula of land but
it would be wet when the lake had more water in it. I don't know if
or not, but it was then. There was an owl perched about 2/3 up in atree
on a limb overlooking the dry 'creek bed' and started flying towardsIowa and
us. It had no ear tufts but had dark eyes. It flew down fairly low
next to the car and we immediately id' it as a barred owl.
I could not see ear tufts, and it definitely had dark eyes, and it
was in exactly the habitat I had seen barred owls the years we lived in
east Texas. I used to see them along creeks in Iowa near our house,no
perched about 2/3 up a tree on a limb overlooking a pasture. It was a
brainer for me to agree with Carolyn it was a Barred Owl.they have never been
When it was mentioned to very experienced Trans-Pecos birders, we were
told the same, there are no records for Barred Owls in the
Trans-Pecos, and intimated therefore it couldn't be one. However, to
this day, we know what we saw. Lots of birds show up in places 'where
documented' before. So who knows? Maybe tomorrow someone with acamera
or audio equipment will document a Barred Owl at Cottonwood. Wouldn'twasn't there.
that be great? Just because it wasn't documented, doesn't mean it
ââDale Ohl
Canton TX
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