Information on working terriers, dogs, natural history, hunting, and the environment, with occasional political commentary as I see fit. This web log is associated with the Terrierman.com web site.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Barred Owl on the Edge of the Forest
The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is found over much of eastern North America, and it cross-breeds with the Spotted Owl in the Pacific Northwest where it has expanded its range.
We have a Barred Owl nest box in the back yard, as yet unoccupied.
Here in California the U.S. Fish and Wildlife are killing Barred Owls as they make their way South. The Spotted Owl is the Panda of the raptor world. They have specialized their food to a very small variety. They DO NOT only live in old growth forests! I grew up in 2nd growth redwoods in Marin County, California where we have a pretty dense population. And speaking of dense, I have walked within 5 feet of a Spotted Owl and it just stared at me. No decent predator response.
The Barred Owl is more aggressive, take a wider variety of prey and knows how to respond to a predator threat. I believe we are witnessing survival of the fittest first hand. We are seeing how a species adapts. USFWS is using sentiment, not science.
Then again, there is probably money involved. Look how they caved to the wind farms, giving them a 30 year depredation variance. Wind farms kill an average of 4000 Golden and 2000 Bald eagles a year. Never mind all the other birds that are killed. And yet USFWS will not allow these eagles to be bred in captivity nor will they allow falconers to take depredation eagles (eagles slated for slaughter). Crikey!
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Here in California the U.S. Fish and Wildlife are killing Barred Owls as they make their way South. The Spotted Owl is the Panda of the raptor world. They have specialized their food to a very small variety. They DO NOT only live in old growth forests! I grew up in 2nd growth redwoods in Marin County, California where we have a pretty dense population. And speaking of dense, I have walked within 5 feet of a Spotted Owl and it just stared at me. No decent predator response.
The Barred Owl is more aggressive, take a wider variety of prey and knows how to respond to a predator threat. I believe we are witnessing survival of the fittest first hand. We are seeing how a species adapts. USFWS is using sentiment, not science.
Then again, there is probably money involved. Look how they caved to the wind farms, giving them a 30 year depredation variance. Wind farms kill an average of 4000 Golden and 2000 Bald eagles a year. Never mind all the other birds that are killed. And yet USFWS will not allow these eagles to be bred in captivity nor will they allow falconers to take depredation eagles (eagles slated for slaughter). Crikey!
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