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--00151747926046134a04acf01d3b Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi, After seeing Ray's description, and playing the B-song from Cornell (had to d/l it and play it in I-tunes - all very easy on a Mac), and the movie clip, it all looks/ sounds pretty convincing to me. But I agree, a sonogram would be neat. I just watched the movie Ghost Bird, on DVD - in case you haven't seen it, it's a very well done documentary on the IBWO - including the effect of its re-discovery on the local economy in Arkansas, then the doubts expressed by Sibley et al, a great analysis by various experts why Sibley is right, some great footage taken by Tanner in the 1930s of actual birds, and all put together very professionally. I mention this partly for a general recommendation of a good movie, but also as an example of the extreme lengths one may have to go to to prove that a bird is or isn't in a given place. Richard On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 7:56 PM, Hans Toom <htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote: > ** > Here's Ray's detailed commentary which may be helpful. > > > ----- Forwarded Message ----- > *From:* Ray Staszko <raystaszko@eastlink.ca> > *To:* snahmoot@yahoo.ca > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 13, 2011 10:14:42 PM > *Subject:* Owl Calls & Sounds - All Species > > Hans, > If you go to this website, scroll down to Eastern screech owl, and open the > audio clip called B-Song (Ithaca) this is almost exactly the sound my owl > was making when I first heard him, before I got close enough to cause him to > move to the second tree. Thereafter he continued to make a similar sound but > it was shorter, more tentative, and less frequent. I know the video doesn't > really capture this, but I am confident in what I saw and heard, as I paid > close attention. > Ray > http://www.owlpages.com/sounds.php > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Hans Toom <snahmoot@yahoo.ca> > *To:* HansToom <Htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca> > *Sent:* Wednesday, September 14, 2011 3:56 PM > *Subject:* Fw: your website and my possible sighting of screech owl > > > ----- Forwarded Message ----- > *From:* Ray Staszko <raystaszko@eastlink.ca> > *To:* snahmoot@yahoo.ca > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 13, 2011 8:39:19 PM > *Subject:* your website and my possible sighting of screech owl > > Hans, > > I've started to look through your website, and will continue to do so and > read the journals when I get a chance (the next couple of weeks are very > busy for me). It almost goes without saying -- but shouldn't -- that your > photography is impressive both for its content and its quality. > > You and I share a similar fascination with nature but from different > perspectives and no doubt different temperaments. Your main knowledge/love > is birds and you sometimes shoot mammals because they come your way in the > course of your hikes. For me it is more or less the other way around. The > only animal about which I consider myself an "amateur authority" is the > beaver. They are sort of a long-term research project for me. Everything > else I have picked up here and there as I went along. > > We are also day and night opposites when it comes to photography. > Basically, you know what you are doing and do it well, and I don't. I have > an old second-hand EVF 8 mp with very limited op zoom that shoots low > quality video and will only give me a profesional quality still photo once > in a while, more out of luck than skill. I take the pictures mainly for my > own use to keep records of what I see. The nice thing about digital is that > if you go out a few times every week and take dozens of shots each time, > some of them are bound to turn out well. A craftsman, I'm not, I'm afraid. > > This is by way of explaining that I have decided to send you the video I > shot the other night of the possible/probable(?) screech owl. This might be > the poorest quality photographic record that anyone has ever tried to show > you. However, under the circumstances I am delighted to have any record at > all of this bird. I was walking out of deep woods on my way home after dark, > with the camera put away as there was no option of shooting reasonable > photos in the dark. When I first heard and then saw the owl, I had to fumble > to get the thing out and get it activated. I knew there was zero chance of a > photo in the darkness (the owl wasn't close enough to even consider the > flash) but I thought I might be able to get something with the video option, > and I more or less did. You can see the shape of the owl, his relative size > compared to the knwon dimensions of the tree he was in, his tufts (if you > pause the video and look very closley) and you hear one faint, low quality > vocalization. The video doesn't show the tufts extremely well but I saw them > clearly and unquestionably with my eyes before he moved to the second tree. > > I actually saw the owl continuously for at least a full minute or more, and > heard at least 20 vocalizations. At first he was in the top of a tree > directly in front of me. As I was fumbling with the camera he flew off, but > fortunately only a sort distance. When I first saw him he as atop a > burned-out 25 to 30 foot tree about 50 feet in front of me. He then flew to > near but not at the top of another burned out tree of about the same height > that put him perhaps 100 feet from me. Before he flew off I got a decent > look at him. My first impression was that this was the smallest tufted owl > I'd ever seen, like a great horned in miniature. However, I was also struck > by the vocalizations, shrieks or screeches spaced about 4 seconds apart in > sets of three. On the video the sound quality is poor (that microphone > muffles sound emanating from more than a few feet away). However to my ears > there as much more texture to the sound, l kind of an eerie warble. > > Anyway, in itself the screeches prove nothing. As you know owls make a > variety of sounds, and there are a few other owls that screech on occasion. > However, add to the sound the size of the bird and the tufts, and though I > certainly stand to be corrected, it seems that the Eastern screech owl is > the strongest possibility. Too small, and wrong overall shape or tuft shape, > to be long-eared, and much too small to be great horned. If there are other > small horned owls that are found in Nova Scotia and emit screeches, then > these could be considered possibilities as well, but I couldn't find any > other candidates mentioned in the NS Museum's online listings. I was not > able to observe the bird closely enough to record the coloration and > markings, but what I remember is compatible with photos I have since seen of > the E. screech owl. > > Anyway, I will attach the original video file. However, unless you have > QuickTime software on your computer you might not be able to open it. In > case that happens. I will also (in a separate message) send ou a link to my > You Tube site (which makes proprietary video files more widely accessible in > format). I do not post videos there to display to the public (all of my > videos are primitive at best), only for friends to see on the odd occasion. > However, there is nothing there of a personal nature. > > The other birds I saw last fall that time I ran into you are almost > certainly Bohemian waxwings. I actually have some passably good photos of > those somewhere (my filing system is atrocious, but I could find them with > enough time). They are supposedly more Western, but I came across a photo > online of a large number of them in Maine, and if they can come to Maine > they can stray over here on occasion. They are the only other unusual bird > I've ever seen that I've been able to identify with any confidence. > Everything else I've come across you have no doubt seen 1000 times. > > See you at DC from time to time, > Ray Staszko > > > -- ################# Richard Stern, Port Williams, NS, Canada sternrichard@gmail.com ################### -- ################# Dr.R.B.Stern, P.O. Box 300, Port Williams, N.S., Canada, B0P 1T0 Richard Stern, Port Williams, NS, Canada sternrichard@gmail.com ################### --00151747926046134a04acf01d3b Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><br><br>Hi,<br><br>After seeing Ray's de= scription, and playing the B-song from Cornell (had to d/l it and play it i= n I-tunes - all very easy on a Mac), and the movie clip, it all looks/ soun= ds pretty convincing to me. But I agree, a sonogram would be neat. <br> <br>I just watched the movie Ghost Bird, on DVD - in case you haven't s= een it, it's a very well done documentary on the IBWO - including the e= ffect of its re-discovery on the local economy in Arkansas, then the doubts= expressed by Sibley et al, a great analysis by various experts why Sibley = is right, some great footage taken by Tanner in the 1930s of actual birds, = and all put together very professionally. I mention this partly for a gener= al recommendation of a good movie, but also as an example of the extreme le= ngths one may have to go to to prove that a bird is or isn't in a given= place.<br> <br>Richard<div><div></div><div class=3D"h5"><br><br><div class=3D"gmail_qu= ote">On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 7:56 PM, Hans Toom <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a hr= ef=3D"mailto:htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca" target=3D"_blank">htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca= </a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p= x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"> <u></u> <div bgcolor=3D"#ffffff"> <div><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"2"> <div>Here's Ray's detailed commentary which may be helpful.</div> <div>=A0</div> <div><br> <blockquote style=3D"border-left:rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid;padding-left:5px;= margin-left:5px"> <div style=3D"font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"> <div style=3D"font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-si= ze:12pt"><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"2">----- Forwarded Message -----<br><= b><span style=3D"font-weight:bold">From:</span></b> Ray Staszko=20 <<a href=3D"mailto:raystaszko@eastlink.ca" target=3D"_blank">raystaszk= o@eastlink.ca</a>><br><b><span style=3D"font-weight:bold">To:</span></b>= <a href=3D"mailto:snahmoot@yahoo.ca" target=3D"_blank">snahmoot@yahoo.ca</= a><br> <b><span style=3D"font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, September 13,= 2011=20 10:14:42 PM<br><b><span style=3D"font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> Ow= l=20 Calls & Sounds - All Species<br></font><br> <div> =20 <div><font face=3D"Arial">Hans,</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">If you go to this website, scroll down to Easte= rn=20 screech owl, and open the audio clip called B-Song (Ithaca) this is almos= t=20 exactly the sound my owl was making when I first heard him, before I got = close=20 enough to cause him to move to the second tree. Thereafter he continued t= o=20 make a similar sound but it was shorter, more tentative,=A0and less=20 frequent. I know the video doesn't really capture this, but I am conf= ident in=20 what I saw and heard, as I paid close attention.=A0</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">Ray</font></div><a rel=3D"nofollow">http://www.= owlpages.com/sounds.php</a>=20 </div><br><br></div></div></blockquote></div></font></div> <div style=3D"font:10pt arial">----- Original Message -----=20 <div style=3D"background:#e4e4e4"><b>From:</b> <a title=3D"snahmoot@yahoo.c= a" href=3D"mailto:snahmoot@yahoo.ca" target=3D"_blank">Hans Toom</a> </div> <div><b>To:</b> <a title=3D"Htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca" href=3D"mailto:Htoom@hfx= .eastlink.ca" target=3D"_blank">HansToom</a> </div> <div><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, September 14, 2011 3:56 PM</div> <div><b>Subject:</b> Fw: your website and my possible sighting of screech= =20 owl</div></div> <div><br></div> <div style=3D"background-color:#fff;font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-se= rif;color:#000;font-size:10pt"> <div><span></span></div> <div><br> <blockquote style=3D"border-left:rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid;padding-left:5px;= margin-left:5px"> <div style=3D"font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"> <div style=3D"font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-si= ze:12pt"><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"2">----- Forwarded Message -----<br><= b><span style=3D"font-weight:bold">From:</span></b> Ray Staszko <<a href= =3D"mailto:raystaszko@eastlink.ca" target=3D"_blank">raystaszko@eastlink.ca= </a>><br> <b><span style=3D"font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> <a href=3D"mailto:snahmo= ot@yahoo.ca" target=3D"_blank">snahmoot@yahoo.ca</a><br><b><span style=3D"f= ont-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, September 13, 2011 8:39:19=20 PM<br><b><span style=3D"font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> your websit= e and=20 my possible sighting of screech owl<br></font><br> <div> =20 <div><font face=3D"Arial">Hans,</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">I've started to look through your website, = and will=20 continue to do so and read the journals when I get a chance (the next cou= ple=20 of weeks are very busy for me). It almost goes without saying -- but shou= ldn't=20 -- that your photography is impressive both for its content and its=20 quality.</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">You and I share a similar fascination with natu= re but=20 from different perspectives and no doubt different temperaments. Your mai= n=20 knowledge/love is birds and you sometimes shoot mammals because they come= your=20 way in the course of your hikes. For me it is more or less the other way= =20 around. The only animal about which I consider myself an "amateur au= thority"=20 is the beaver. They are sort of a long-term research project for me.=20 Everything else I have picked up here and there as I went along.</font></= div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">We are also day and night opposites when it com= es to=20 photography. Basically, you know what you are doing and do it well, and I= =20 don't. I have an old second-hand EVF 8 mp with very limited op zoom t= hat=20 shoots low quality video and will only give me a profesional quality stil= l=20 photo once in a while, more out of luck than skill. I take the pictures m= ainly=20 for my own use to keep records of what I see. The nice thing about digita= l is=20 that if you go out a few times every week and take=A0dozens of shots each= =20 time, some of them are bound to turn out well. A craftsman, I'm not, = I'm=20 afraid.</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">This is by way of explaining that I have decide= d to send=20 you the video I shot the other night of the possible/probable(?) screech = owl.=20 This might be the poorest quality photographic record that anyone has eve= r=20 tried to show you. However, under the circumstances I am delighted to hav= e any=20 record at all of this bird. I was walking out of deep woods on my way hom= e=20 after dark, with the camera put away as there was no option of shooting= =20 reasonable photos in the dark. When I first heard and then saw the owl, I= had=20 to fumble to get the thing out and get it activated. I knew there was zer= o=20 chance of a photo in the darkness (the owl wasn't close enough to eve= n=20 consider the flash) but I thought I might be able to get something with t= he=20 video option, and I more or less did. You can see the shape of the owl, h= is=20 relative size compared to the knwon dimensions of the tree he was in, his= =20 tufts (if you pause the video and look very closley) and you hear one fai= nt,=20 low quality vocalization. The video doesn't show the tufts extremely = well but=20 I saw them clearly and unquestionably with my eyes before he moved to the= =20 second tree.</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">I actually saw the owl continuously for at leas= t a full=20 minute or more, and heard at least 20 vocalizations. At first he was in t= he=20 top of a tree directly in front of me. As I was fumbling with the camera = he=20 flew off, but fortunately only a sort distance. When I first saw him he a= s=20 atop a burned-out 25 to 30 foot=A0 tree about 50 feet in front of me. He= =20 then flew to near but not at the top of another burned out tree of about = the=20 same height that put him perhaps 100 feet from me. Before he flew off I g= ot a=20 decent look at him. My first impression was that this was the smallest tu= fted=20 owl I'd ever seen, like a great horned in miniature. However, I was a= lso=20 struck by the vocalizations,=A0shrieks or screeches spaced about 4 second= s=20 apart in sets of three. On the video the sound quality is poor (that=20 microphone muffles sound emanating from more than a few feet away). Howev= er to=20 my ears there as much more texture to the sound, l kind of an=20 eerie=A0warble.</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">Anyway, in itself the screeches prove nothing. = As you=20 know owls make a variety of sounds, and there are a few other owls that= =20 screech on occasion. However, add to the sound the size of the bird and t= he=20 tufts, and though I certainly stand to be corrected, it seems that the Ea= stern=20 screech owl is the strongest possibility. Too small, and wrong overall sh= ape=20 or tuft shape, to be long-eared, and much too small to be great horned. I= f=20 there are other small horned owls that are found in Nova Scotia and emit= =20 screeches, then these could be considered possibilities as well, but I=20 couldn't find any other candidates mentioned in the NS Museum's o= nline=20 listings. I was not able to observe the bird closely enough to record the= =20 coloration and markings, but what I remember is compatible with photos I = have=20 since seen of the E. screech owl.</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">Anyway, I will attach the original video file. = However,=20 unless you have QuickTime software on your computer you might not be able= to=20 open it. In case that happens. I will also (in a separate message) send o= u a=20 link to my You Tube site (which makes proprietary video files more widely= =20 accessible in format). I do not post videos there to display to the publi= c=20 (all of my videos are primitive at best), only for friends to see on the = odd=20 occasion. However, there is nothing there of a personal nature.</font></d= iv> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">The other birds I saw last fall that time I ran= into you=20 are almost certainly Bohemian waxwings. I actually have some passably goo= d=20 photos of those somewhere (my filing system is atrocious, but I could fin= d=20 them with enough time). They are supposedly more Western, but I came acro= ss a=20 photo online of a large number of them in Maine, and if they can come to = Maine=20 they can stray over=A0here on occasion. They are the only other unusual= =20 bird I've ever seen that I've been able to identify with any conf= idence.=20 Everything else I've come across you have no doubt seen 1000=20 times.</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial"></font>=A0</div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">See you at DC from time to time,</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial">Ray=20 Staszko</font></div></div><br><br></div></div></blockquote></div></div></di= v> </blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br></div></div><font color=3D"#88= 8888">-- <br>#################<br>Richard Stern, <br>Port Williams, NS, Can= ada<br><a href=3D"mailto:sternrichard@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">sternric= hard@gmail.com</a><br> ###################<br> </font></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br>-- <br>#################<br>Dr.R.B.S= tern,=A0=A0 <br>P.O. Box 300,<br>Port Williams,<br>N.S., Canada,<br>B0P 1T0= <br>Richard Stern, <br>Port Williams, NS, Canada<br><a href=3D"mailto:stern= richard@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">sternrichard@gmail.com</a><br> ###################<br> --00151747926046134a04acf01d3b--
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