I wonder if this years flam sights is simply a fluke The spring up her
in Estes was so cold and wet that maybe the owls simply stayed st lower
elevations for this nesting season.
I have a few areas around Estes Park where I would see flans every
year. This year the birds were absent. Also this year I knew of two
flam nests in Lyons, were they had previously been unseen.
It will be interesting what happens next spring.
Scott Rashid
Estes Park
On 9/23/2019 11:53 AM, Joe Roller wrote:
Chuck Aid raised the question of possible harm to "Flame Owls" in a
note to CObirds on September 2.
That note and my response are below. I asked Dr. Brian Linkhart, FLOW
expert at Colorado College to weigh in, and his note follows too.
Sept 2: message from Chuck Aid
The increase in recent Flam Owl sightings reinforces my feelings that
it would be best not to report some sightings on eBird. Does this
look like harassment to anyone else? I would appreciate the
perspective of others.
Thanks,
Chuck Aid
Sept 2: reply from Joe Roller
As far as I can tell, the 2019 FLOW reports have not been from a
single, certain nesting location,
but have been on roads going SE of Bailey toward Cheesman Lake, a
large, vague area. So this seems
different for instance from a Spotted Owl Stake Out nesting site,
which would attract many birders to a certain,
exact site, leading to probable harassment.
There is a lot of good Flammulated Owl habitat in those general areas
of Jefferson County, so maybe eBird reports are not so bad.
Some very ethical, experienced birders have been among the birders
posting this year.
Next, it seems better to me if field trips are made _after the
breeding season_, instead of during it, perhaps minimizing harassment.
Colorado Bird Atlas II notes nesting dates of: May 25 (first occupied
nest) to July 23 (last nest with young).
So mid to late August and early September checklists seem less
problematic than ones in June and July.
And the ABA code of ethics pertain here, with obvious guidelines like:
a) not playing owl tapes til your batteries run low,
b) trying to get in and out of a small owl's neighborhood without
dawdling, gawking, shining lights like Las Vegas
c) or trying for the 80th flash photo til "the crank of dawn".
Joe Roller, Denver
Sept 23: opinion of Dr,. Brian Linkhart, Professor at Colorado College
Happy to weigh in on this, and I appreciate your contacting me about
it, Joe.
Your comments are largely on target, so I’ll only state a few
additions to incorporate.
First, I’d expand the dates of the nesting season to go to Aug. 1,
since we regularly have late nests (certainly this year) that don’t
fledge young until early August.
Otherwise your mid/late August timeline for conducting field trips is
reasonable, as June and July are definitely problematic for conducting
playbacks (this can cause females to abandon nests if within 100 m of
playbacks, and it’s very challenging to know with certainly if one is
outside this radius).
Second, I’d limit total playback time to 15 min, as August and
September are when males are establishing ownership of breeding
territories (before they migrate), and extensive playback use may
cause them to abandon their occupancy of the area. Thanks for your
efforts to minimize human impacts on owls (and all birds). Any other
questions, let me know.
Best,
Brian D. Linkhart, Professor, Department of Organismal Biology and Ecology
Colorado College 4 E. Cache La Poudre St.Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Office: 719-389-6605
Cell: 719-684-4145
Other comments and viewpoints on this topic are welcome.
Birders are encouraged to spread this information among friends and
through Colorado birding and conservation organizations.
Joe Roller, Denver
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
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