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I am resending this because it didn't make it through earlier. Patricia L. Chalmers Halifax >Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:23:36 -0700 (PDT) >From: Suzanne Borkowski <suzanneborkowski@yahoo.ca> >Subject: Owl Bonanza on Bowater Route! > > >Hi Everyone; > >Patricia Chalmers and I ran my owl route on Friday night in the >Bowater lands at Sandy Lake, Tantallon. Pat had called me at >lunchtime to say the winds were dropping in the evening and could I >go? I always keep a bag packed during owl survey season: warm >clothes, flashlight, compass, clipboard, forms, pencil, batteries, >extra playback CD and at the last minute I throw in some snacks. We >get pretty hungry by midnight. So, I jumped in the car and went to >scout the route in daylight hours. I got to see a Barred owl on >this excursion. It flew across the road, landed on a branch, and >proceeded to stare at me! I also saw a flock of White-winged >Crossbills and several Hairy Woodpeckers. There were loads of >Robins, Juncos and Mourning Doves, a few Golden-crowned Kinglets and >some Chickadees. > >That night the wind dropped completely - not even a "fresh breeze >felt on face". Listening conditions were excellent. We could even >hear distant highway traffic from the 103 at stop 3 - about 5 km up >the road. Our first stop produced no owls, but at our second, we >had a pair of duetting Barred Owls calling from further up the road >- a nice treat! At our next stop we could hear these two owls >behind us; but we also picked up a Northern Saw-whet and a Great >Horned. Four owls in three stops - the night was looking >promising! After that I amwe had owls at every stop. On two >occasions we got good looks at Barred Owls as they flew in and >called to us from less than 50 feet away. Our total for the night >was 23 owls: 14 Barred, 10 Northern Saw-whet and one Great Horned; >the highest number we've ever had on any of our routes. >By contrast, other wildlife was scarce. No Woodcock or Snipe, no >hares, no coyotes calling, and no deer. There were no signs of >porcupine or raccoons either. We had Spring Peepers at one stop >only, a few loons calling at another, and a small number of Canada >Geese. Again, there were more clearcuts in the woods this year, but >they certainly didn't have a negative effect on our owl numbers! > >Any thoughts? > >Cheers; >Suzanne > > >
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