Back when I did a lot of work with spotted owls, we learned that they would very rapidly come to associate humans with food once they were fed (which we did as part of our protocol), and that owls that got fed more than a few times would sometimes fly right up to you and start looking for the box of mice. All you had to do was show up and there they were, begging. It did not take daily feeding, either, but two or three times a season was, in some cases, enough for the association to occur. I jokingly called it "Park Bear Syndrome" and it was something none of us liked to see. Wonder what that snowy owl is learning? If an animal even detects your presence, you have modified that animal's behavior at some level. It has to consider where you fit into its environment, whether you are predator, prey, potential mate, or a part of the landscape, and that takes a certain amount of its attention and energy. NONE of us who bird are innocent of this. And the more you modify its behavior, the more responsibility you have if something happens. Those modifications do not have to be ones we consider negative, either. Habituation to human presence, and especially reliance on human provision of food, can be as detrimental to wild animals as having them fear us. I think it behooves all of us to make as little impact as possible if we truly respect the wildlife we watch. Dennis Garrison Paonia, Delta County
From: [email protected] Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:13:53 -0500 Subject: Re: [cobirds] owl To: [email protected]; [email protected] I saw the Snowy Owl swoop down three times, catch a brown lab rat (pet store rat) that a homeowner was releasing from a small plastic bucket next a photographer with a huge lens, then fly to a rooftop perch, swallow the rat head first, in a gulp. Others have reported feeding behavior as I recall. Joe Roller, Denver _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390708/direct/01/
