is a plastic life-sized GB heron that guards our little bird pond, has been well chewed by our daughter’s dog, was collecting snow today, 1st appeared as a tetradactyl, later morphed into a penguin 😉
we have a smallish back yard, but 40+ RW blackbirds were here for awhile, emptied all of our feeders except suet
Jay, excellent note and a very important reminder.
Inspired me to revisit the BOW species accounts (Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY) of owls that have been documented in Idaho, mainly to refresh my understanding of their breeding seasons, e.g., species-specific dates for the onset of pair-bonding, nest site inspection and selection, etc. I took a few notes and compared them with eBird bar charts for Idaho (migrant owls in particular), and although these are just “rough draft notes” I thought I’d share them with birders on IBLE (see attached).
Thanks Larry. I have been posting pics and field notes of roadkill to Idaho Fish and Game, through its web site. And I talked with an agency biologist at one point. She, in turn, sent me links to academic/research papers. In 1989, upon settling in Pennsylvania, I began keeping a journal in which I listed the species, date and location of any wildlife (birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and butterflies) I found during walks. I am in my fifth journal now and my tally of species is well over 250 now.
I believe Stoddard Davenport reported some crazy high numbers of roadkill Barn Owls along I-84 that he had found with a bit of research ? and my hunch is that Stoddard was referencing the two docs that Karl K mentioned earlier today ?
Anyway, on one of our trips from Boise to Twin Falls to visit our daughter and family, we counted them along both directions of I-84…
I’m not finding my notes at the moment, but I think we tallied abt 130 easily visible dead Barn Owls… very sad to see
Since moving to Mountain Home, and bicycling as much as possible, I have recorded and photographed dozens of roadkill owls, principally Barn Owls, but also Great Horned, Screech and Short-eared.
This is only an anecdote, but I cannot help but consider that human activities, like driving a motor vehicle, are the greatest cause of owl mortality. Here are pics of two of the dead Barn Owls (Tyto alba) I found in recent weeks.
Alan Gregory in Mountain Home
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Alan C Gregory Lt. Col., USAF, Ret. Mountain Home, ID Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association, life member Member, North American Butterfly Association
One December long ago I chanced upon two GHOW mating in cottonwood trees in CAs high desert, so I am not surprised that they begin courtship here in February.
Thank you for relaying this cautionary advice. I hope it is heeded.
Dean
Home of Idaho Birding and the Idaho Bird Records Committee
