This is a memo Steve Wilson, a MN DNR Ecologist based in Tower, MN has sent to DNR Wildlife and Forestry associates in the northern part of the state. Steve is interested in handling personally all records of Saw-Whet and Boreal Owls seen or, sadly, found dead. He gave me permission to publish this to these list servers. FYI
Mark Alt MOU President Subject: To Those Interested in Documenting Owl Sightings The largest irruption of northern owls ever documented is occurring in Minnesota this winter. Many of you no doubt have noticed the unusual numbers, and visibility, of great gray and Northern hawk-owls, and now increasingly, boreal owls. All these species become nomadic and/or shift to more daytime hunting when their prey base (small mammal populations) collapses, as has apparently happened across an unusually large swath of Canada and northern Minnesota. This phenomenon has brought large numbers of bird enthusiasts from all over the United States, and even other countries, to northern Minnesota, and attracted regional and national media attention (for example, NBC Nightly News is expected to broadcast a piece on it this week). =20 Some of you have asked if anyone is keeping track of sightings. The Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) is doing so, and will compile reports at the end of the season that will be published in their journal, The Loon. If any of you are interested in contributing your sightings of owls, the MOU would welcome them, as you folks often get back into areas where birds would otherwise go unreported. I've attached a spreadsheet you can use for this purpose, but any reporting format that includes the requested information is fine. If you decide to participate, please return your spreadsheet or report to me at least once-a-month.=20 =20 If you are aware of any dead owls turning up, they can be brought to the nearest DNR Area Wildlife or Nongame Wildlife office. I've attached a Word document that details how they should be handled in order to optimize their value to education institutions, like the University of Minnesota or Chicago Field Museum, that are receiving collected specimens. =20 =20 I will be focusing on the boreal owl irruption, and whether any of our other small, resident owl species, the Northern saw-whet owl, become involved. If you see either a boreal or Northern saw-whet owl, find a dead one, or know someone who found a dead one, I would appreciate if you could email or phone me as soon as possible with the relevant (see spreadsheet) information. In fact, if you've entered the information in the spreadsheet, just attach the whole spreadsheet to the email and send it; it's not a problem if other sightings on the spreadsheet were reported to me already. =20 Thanks in advance to those who choose to participate. Steve Wilson 218-753-2580 x 270 (day) 218-753-6110 (eve) [email protected]=20
