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From William Ko

Rather rare. Listed as 'Near Threatened' by Birdlife International. It is endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia

I normally don't share anything I don't like here, but after reading these 2 pieces, I was left feeling very conflicted, so I thought I might get some opinions on it.

This person seems to be very qualified when it comes to all things forestry, and I don't think anyone could argue his credentials.

I thought I agreed with his overall point, but after reading his reasoning, it makes me question my choice. Perhaps I was being too pessimistic in giving up on the Spotted Owl. I don't think regulation will come to the timber industry due to there being too much money left in harvesting old growth.

With that option off the table, the only realistic thing to do seemed to let the Spotted and Barred Owls find a consistence, even if that meant the Spotted Owl would lose in the long run.

But I disagree with this guy's reasoning so much, it really bothers me. I don't know if the US or Canada will ever have leaders that will care about our environment over money, but it doesn't feel right to throw in the towel on the Spotted Owl.

If you read this, and especially the linked PDF article that goes into more detail that almost got him "canceled," in curious as to your takeaways.

From Capital Press

Commentary: Hoot owl biology and the U.S. government By Bob Zybach

In Charles Darwin's 1859 "Origin of Species," he describes "race" as members of the same species that typically develop different characteristics when separated geographically over time. Human races were the common focus and "scientific" discussions reflected the bigoted prejudices of that time.

In 1942 a German ornithologist, Ernst Mayr, defined animal species as "genetically distinct populations of individuals" capable of mating with one another and producing viable offspring.

These were the definitions my classmates and I were taught in public grade schools in the 1950s, and in public high schools and colleges in the 1960s.

When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was adopted in 1973, 36 birds, 22 fish, 14 mammals, six reptiles and six amphibians were initially listed: 84 animals in all, and each a distinct species.

Today there are more than 1,770 designated ESA species listed as threatened or endangered in the U.S., and more than 635 foreign species: 2,400 total.

Of these totals, only 57 species that have been considered "recovered" and 11 considered "extinct" were delisted in the past 51 years. This is a success rate of less than 3%; and an average of listing more than 47 new ESA species a year, while removing only one.

The cost to taxpayers can be measured in the billions or trillions of dollars, depending on the accounting method.

The barred owl is the most common brown-eyed owl in North America and has been popularly known as a "hoot owl" for many generations.

Sometime by the 1950s these birds began expanding their range into the Pacific Northwest and breeding with native spotted owls, producing viable young called "sparred owls."

The spotted owl had been listed under the ESA as threatened in 1990 and the supposed cause of its low population numbers was claimed to be logging. This determination resulted in dozens of successful "environmental" lawsuits being filed from that time to the present with the specific focus of stopping the sale and harvesting of commercial timber, and particularly on public forestlands.

In 2007 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hunters began systematically killing barred owls and sparred owls on an "experimental" basis. The sole purpose was to control the breeding process in order to maintain genetic purity. Only these were wild owls, not domestic plants or animals, and ethical concerns were raised immediately. And then ignored.

A little over 10 years ago I wrote about this problem in a lengthy article that I also posted to a national blog of (mostly) retired U.S. Forest Service professionals for discussion. I then presented this perspective in two lectures to graduate students, staff and professors at the College of Forestry and then the Department of Fish and Wildlife at Oregon State University.

These efforts resulted in some meaningful discussions in the public forums, but immediate and adversarial claims of being a racist during my university lectures. Which was my whole point.

I had used polar opposites of the human species — a Pygmy and a Swede — to compare their differences in physiology, vocalizations, diet, coloration, appearance and preferred habitat with those of spotted owls and barred owls. I was challenging current scientific theory and government policies with documentation, but my work could be safely ignored because someone called me a name.

The cost to U.S. society for the purpose of keeping these brown-eyed cousins of owls from having sex has simply been too great for too many years.

The massive economic damage from spotted owl lawsuits — almost entirely funded by taxpayers — is generally well recognized: tens of thousands of lost jobs in the forest industry and U.S. Forest Service; hundreds of sawmill closures; billions of dollars in lost revenues to the U.S. Treasury, states, counties and schools; and the resulting degradation of our rural communities, roads, parks and services.

And, as predicted, millions of acres of so-called "spotted owl critical habitat" have gone up in flames, killing millions of wildlife and polluting the air with deadly smoke.

My thought remains that we need to stop playing God with hoot owls and let nature take its course. As Darwin pointed out, nature favors the "survival of the fittest," and in this instance that seems to be sparred owls.

Link to the longer, older article referenced in this story.

From Harold Wilion

I meant to post this yesterday, but life got in the way. There's nothing scarier than witnessing a Screech owl yawn. And nothing spookier than seeing the owl's spirit leave the hole at night like the last shot.

From Paul Katinas

Barred Owl with its Barred Owlet. Love how the little one is already so sulky looking!

From Larry Bridge

Fledgling Great Horned Owl at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge

It looks more graceful than a teenager learning to drive a car! 😜

From the Santa Barbara Independent

A tiny owl stranded at sea surprised a local crew boat on the morning of October 6. The boat, which was shuttling workers from the Goleta Pier to Platform Holly, found the western burrowing owl floating in the ocean two miles offshore.

The crew, captains Daniel Madison, Amor Cueva, and Jerry Gereminanao and engineer, Eric Benavidez, of SoCal Ship Services, were heading to the site of Holly’s ongoing decommissioning project. But they stopped to help the little bird — an important member of a declining native species.

“We often see different seabirds who need assistance, but we have never seen an owl in the water,” Captain Madison shared.

After bringing the boat alongside the owl, the crew scooped the bird out of the water using a bucket. It was cold, exhausted, and barely moving, so the crew wrapped it up in towels and let it hang out in the engine room to keep it safe and dry until they could get it to land.

Later, when the boat returned to the Goleta Pier, Angela Rauhut, a volunteer and rescuer with the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN), was waiting for them. She transported the bird to their wildlife hospital on Fairview Avenue, where it was taken immediately into care.

According to the SBWCN, burrowing owls may migrate across the Santa Barbara Channel, so this owl may have been heading to or from the Channel Islands or was diverted by coastal wind or fog. However, the exact circumstances of how it got in the water remain unknown.

These small, 7-10-inch owls prefer open areas like grasslands and deserts, nesting underground in burrows often made by other animals, the SBWCN said. They are certainly not cut out for life at sea.

The owl was in sorry shape when it arrived at the hospital. During its fight for survival in the Pacific Ocean, it got covered in oil, disabling its ability to fly and keep itself warm.

International Bird Rescue Hospital staff diagnosed it with minor oil contamination on its wings and chin, and moderate dehydration. The bird also had swelling in its left leg and a small laceration on its tongue, likely from biting itself during the stressful transport, according to the SBWCN.

In Santa Barbara, the owl was stabilized, fed, and treated to the best of SBWCN’s ability, before being transferred to the specialized hands of their partner organization, the International Bird Rescue, in San Pedro on October 8. Once stabilized, caretakers treated the bird to break down the oil and washed it using dish soap.

The washing process, led by Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician Jeanette Bates and Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern Roaa Abdalla, required extra care and a light sedation. It took 30 minutes of gentle, meticulous cleaning to remove all the oil.

After receiving a top-notch wash and dry from the Bird Rescue, it was transferred back to the SBWCN, where it continued to regain strength and flight stamina while housed in an aviary.

Over the next few days, the owl’s condition fluctuated, the SBWCN said in a press release.“By October 19, the owl’s weight had stabilized at 140 grams, and its feather quality was good, with only minor scabbing on its wings,” it continued.

The owl was still mildly dehydrated after 16 days in care, but was nearing a full recovery. Its leg and tongue eventually healed, with “only a broken tail feather” remaining “as a reminder of its ordeal,” the Care Network said.

This little bird is part of a larger story of conservation. Its species has declined dramatically across California, having been nearly wiped out from a third of its former range. The California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously earlier this month to make the bird a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act, which will give it protection for the next 12-18 months while wildlife officials decide whether it deserves permanent status as a “threatened” or “endangered” species.

Among other threats such as cars and rodenticide, burrowing owls are losing space to nest and breed due to urban sprawl, agriculture, and clean energy projects and development, including solar farms. Environmental groups are pushing for more renewable energy, but conservationists want the birds’ precious breeding grounds — and their squatters’ rights in other critters’ burrows — to be protected.

For the formerly adrift owl, extra care and attention made the difference between life and death. “It was released to rejoin its migratory path on October 22,” the SBWCN said, “and is now living its best life back in the wild thanks to the work of this amazing community network that helps protect wildlife!”

From New Mexico Wildlife Center

Happy Halloween! In today's Creature Feature, we're highlighting a species that faces the scariest threat of all: extinction. There are three subspecies of Spotted Owl, two of which are listed as Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, and the other is a Species of Special Concern in its native California. New Mexico is home to one of the Threatened subspecies, the Mexican Spotted Owl.

Spotted Owls are medium-sized owls with a prominent round facial disc and dark eyes. Their feathers are brown with pale spots, perfect for camouflage in a dense forest. Mexican Spotted Owls are the lightest-colored subspecies; in this photo of former NMWC Ambassador Animal Manchado you can see the almost golden color that sets them apart from the chocolate-colored Northern Spotted Owl!

Spotted Owls have very specific habitat requirements; they strongly prefer living in old-growth forests with dense cover created by large trees. Conservation of these habitats is critical to the survival of the species, and the human practice of logging has famously put these owls at risk Spotted Owls sometimes nest in tree cavities or the tops of broken tree snags, which means they rely on the availability of trees old and large enough to nest in. Mexican Spotted Owls in particular also nest on cliffs or in bunches of mistletoe on trees.

Unlike their close Barred Owl relatives, who eat a wide variety of prey types, Spotted Owls eat almost exclusively small mammals like rodents, rabbits, and bats. Native species like wood rats, bats, and deer mice make up most of the diet of Mexican Spotted Owls. Spotted Owls are not especially big raptors - they weigh about a pound and a quarter - so they focus their hunting efforts on the small mammals that also call dense forests home

Habitat loss is the main threat to Spotted Owls, along with the increased presence of larger and bolder Bared Owls in habitats where Northern Spotted Owls live. Like all raptors, Spotted Owls also face dangers related to human presence, such as vehicle collisions and environmental contamination. Keeping their habitats clean, safe, and intact is the best way to ensure the continued survival of this vulnerable species.

I've got 2 long articles in going to share tomorrow that take a critical look at the ongoing Spotted vs Barred Owl debate for those that enjoy the long reads.

Their overall message I agree with, but they come from a very opposite direction than my own and have given me much to consider. Check back this weekend to see those. I look forward to your opinions.

From The Raptor Center

We recently admitted a very special patient into TRC's hospital; only the 4th of its species in our 50 year history. This hatch-year raptor is the elusive American barn owl, a species of owl not commonly found in Minnesota. It is a rare treat to receive a call to help save one in need.

The young barn owl was patient 964 on our road to admitting the 1,000th patient of 2024; we are on track to possibly have the busiest year in our 50-year history. This owl came to our hospital after we received a call about a bird who struck a window in Edina and was on the finder's balcony unable to fly away.

A thorough examination by our veterinarian staff found that the barn owl was experiencing acute head trauma, meaning a few days of "bed" rest, fluids, nutrition, and pain medication was all our owl needed to make a full recovery.

Before being cleared for release, we examined the young owl's flight and endurance. Hatch-year barn owls can travel hundreds of miles from their families' nest in search of nesting territory of their own. We released this barn owl back to the wild where you might just hear that iconic screech haunting the night sky this Halloween.

From Cynthia Rand

Just for fun, as today is Halloween, I found the scariest of all my photos! This is a Screech Owl pair that were in the middle of their yearly molt. Adding to the the scary look, I photographed them way before sunrise so their pupils were still fully dilated!

They're still adorable to me! 🥰

Came across this fun little article about owl words and French slang.

From TheLocal.FR

This French word can help you express positive feelings toward someone or something, and differentiate different types of owls.

Why do I need to know chouette?

Because it’s a very useful word you can use to describe something that you like or you think is nice or cool. But it’s also the name for a big-eyed nocturnal bird.

What does it mean?

Chouette - roughly pronounced shoo-wet - is the word for 'owl' in French, but not all owls.

There is another French word for owl - hibou - which refers to the species that has aigrettes (Plumicorns), which look like ears, on top of their heads, while owls of the chouette category do not.

Within the chouette category, you might hear about la chouette effraie, the barn owl, and la chouette lapone, the great grey owl.

A further fun owl fact is that French also has two different words to describe the noises they make - chuintement refers (among other things) to an owl screech, while hululement is used for the 'twit twoo' cry of a barn owl.

But while discussing owls is always fascinating, you are more likely to hear the word chouette in its more slangy form - it can be used as an adjective to describe something or someone that’s 'great', 'nice' or 'pleasant'.

While the word is informal, it is not offensive, so don't be afraid to use it around children (or your in-laws).

Chouette also has a very common usage as an interjection to express satisfaction about something: Chouette! Mon colis est arrivé! (Great! My package has arrived!)

In this way, it is similar to saying 'ace' or 'sweet' in British English.

There are also expressions that use the word chouette, such as Machin chouette, which you use to refer to someone whose name you can’t remember, in the same way as 'thingummy' or 'thingamabob' in English.

And perhaps the most pejorative usage of chouette but one that may come in handy occasionally is using it to describe a grumpy old lady or hag, une vieille chouette.

If you're looking for alternatives you can say c’est super! or cést genial! to describe a situation or outcome you’re happy about. For people, you could say sympa instead of chouette.

As for its origins, the word first appeared in France around the Middle Ages, as the now lost verb choeter, which meant to be/act trendy or smart.

French Renaissance writer François Rabelais was among the first people to use chouette in writing when describing his wife as une belle petite chouette, showcasing how it is definitely a compliment to be associated with the nocturnal bird of prey.

Use it like this

On a passé une chouette soirée - We had a pleasant evening

Il est un chouette garcon - He’s a nice/friendly kid.

Vous allez faire de la randonnée pendant un mois ? C'est vraiment chouette. - You're going hiking for a month? That's really cool.

From Samnath Mishra

Dusky Eagle Owl

From Mat Custer

Deep within the forest, As dusk slips into darkness, the nocturnal creatures arise. You hear sounds from the brush around you, and a small animal scurrying through leaves, possibly a mouse. Suddenly the sound of 3 loud hoots and an eerie crack of a branch rings out. You look up only to realize that you are being studied by the king of the night, 2 huge eyes gaze upon you.

I captured this beautiful Barred Owl photo earlier this year in the spring near Omaha, Ne, wanted to share.