2017 owling

Intro

I live in Portland Oregon with my wife Tui, two sons Charlie (aged 5) and George (aged 2), and dog Maile. This entry details my owling exploits for 2017 around Portland and further afield in the Pacific Northwest.

Jan 1st. Determined to get a jump on the year, I set off after breakfast to check on the screech owl from the bluff at Oak's Bottom. The hole in the broken ash tree appeared vacant, so I headed out for Reed Canyon. There I found a barred owl in it's usual roost in a small Doug fir.

Next I drove out to Vanport wetland in search of great-horned owls. The nest appeared unoccupied, but down by the slough I found a lovely big owl roosting in a cottonwood tree.

I checked out a new location for barn owls near the airport, but came up short. Next I hiked with Maile along the dike between the Columbia and the airport in search of short-eared owls, but again came up short.

After lunch I took George out in the stroller, and at the same ash that I had checked this morning I found a screech owl crammed into the hole. I checked out a lot of other sites, and found ample white-wash, but no other owls.

Jan 2nd. Despite the cold and wind Charlie and I ventured out in search of owls. Our first stop was the children's arboretum in north Portland. "What's that stuff" Charlie asked as we got out the car. We were standing in broken car glass. Mixed in was the cap of a syringe. Nonetheless we ventured into the park and quickly found a big conifer with white wash splattered below. Quite low in the tree, a big great-horn owl stared down its powerful beak at us.

Feeling encouraged we visited Broughton Beach. The shore was covered in bits of ice. The wind was stuff and it really was freezing. Charlie was surprisingly tough and uncomplaining about the elements. We walked up to the Sea Scout base without seeing anything other than planes. On the return we found a small group of birders staring intently at something. We hurried along, and sure enough they had found a burrowing owl which was first reported about 10 days ago. I got a nice view in the scope, Charlie was ambivalent about viewing another owl.

That afternoon I took George around Oaks Bottom in the stroller. I found the screech owl in the usual cavity in an ash tree.

Jan 3rd. I took Maile out to Oak Island Road on Sauvies Island. I found a pair of great-horned owls roosting at their usual site. In a dense conifer I found a lovely female barn owl.

I tried Scappose for short eared owls. I saw a beautiful rough-legged hawk, but failed to see any owls-perhaps it was too early (10-11am) in the day?

Jan 11th. It snowed heavily last night, and this evening Charlie and I were snow balling at Westmoreland park. A great-horned owl flew over the little marsh-I saw it illuminated by the park lights.

Jan 12th. I got to enjoy a snow day today. I dropped of the boys at day care and took Maile to Broughton Beach. In quick succession we found the long staying burrowing owl, then a male short-eared owl.

Feb 5th. Today was one of those miserable days when it poured-cold rain from dawn to dusk. Maile and I braved the elements and walked along the side of Oaks Bottom. I got a view of the screech owl in the broken ash.

Feb 11th. Andy Frank had let me know that he had a pair of screech owls in his front yard. George and I showed up mid afternoon and enjoyed great views of a brown screech-owl in a open cavity in a birch tree.

Feb 12th. I went birding for a few hours with Nick and Peyton. We found a pair of barn owls and a great-horned owl on a nest.

That afternoon George and I checked the broken ash at Oaks Bottom and we found a screech owl in the usual cavity in the broken ash.

After dinner I returned to Andy's home. A screech owl sang as I knocked on the door. Our goal was to find saw-whet owl in Forest Park. We were unable to find any saw-whets, but did hear a singing barred owl bellow Pittock Mansion.

On the drive home, three houses from mine I saw a screech owl sat on the road. I pulled over, concerned that it was hurt. Fortunately it wasn't and  it flew up into a tree. Moments later it was joined by a second bird. This is the first time I have seen screech owls on my street. And the prospect of a nesting pair is really exciting.

Feb 19th. George, Maile and I walked around Oaks Bottom on a mild rainy Sunday afternoon. We found a screech owl roosting in the usual cavity in an ash tree.

Feb 20th. I took the boys out to Kelly Point park to check out a Great-horned owl nest. I was able to get nice views of the female on the nest.

Feb 26th. I took George out for a stroller ride around Oak's Bottom in order to get him to nap. I saw the screech owl in the broken ash tree.

Feb 27th. Tui and I walked around Oaks Bottom. I was able to show her the roosting screech owl in the usual place.

That evening, Tui heard and found a singing screech owl in our neighbor' tree while unloading the car. I was able to watch and listen to it sing from the driveway. We were both thrilled to re-find them in our neighborhood. We have a lot of discussion and searching of potential nest and roost sites.

March 4th. Maile and I hiked around Oak's Bottom and I found the screech owl roosting at the usual broken ash tree. (Alas the walk was more memorable because Maile found some human (?) poop to roll in).

March 6th. I checked out the Kelly Point Great-horned owl and could clearly see the female bird protecting her eggs/babies from the cold rain. Later I checked on the Oak's Bottom screech owl and found the bird in the usual cavity.

March 11th. I took Charlie around Oaks Bottom and found the screech owl at the usual site. On the way back to the car we found a second screech owl sunning itself from the entrance to a cavity above the trail. (Tui and I had found a bird in the same cavity about a year ago).

March 12. George and I took Jenny Jones and another local birder to the screech owl at Oaks Bottom. At the end of the day George and I returned. It was a rare warm evening and we heard frogs and coyotes sing. We also heard some sustained barn owl calls from the south end of the park. This is an owl that I have only found sporadically at Oaks.

March 14th. While loading Gorge into the car to go to work I heard a screech owl singing softly from the neighbor's tree. I was able to see the owl in the dim morning light fly across the street. Despite George's enthusiasm he missed it.

March 18th. I walked Maile around Oaks Bottom this afternoon. Large stretches of the trail were flooded. I found the screech owl roosting at the usual site in the broken ash tree.

March 19th. I walked all the way up Reed Canyon with Maile, in search of barred owls. I found none, and worse, I found the remains of a screech owl at one of the barred owl roost sites.

At dusk George and I visited Tryon. It was a beautiful warm evening. We followed some robins down to the creek in search of a barred or horned owl, but came out only with blackberry scratches. Near the visitor's center we did get brief views of a saw whet owl.

March 20th. I drove around Oak Is road but came up blank. At Coon Point I did get nice looks of the female great-horned owl on the nest.

March 23rd. I took Maile to Tryon State Park where I found a singing Northern pygmy-owl high in a Doug fir. This was the first pygmy-owl for the year. We then went to Oaks Bottom, which was still flooded. Near the southern parking lot I found a screech owl sunning itself from a south facing crack in an oak tree. I found a second screech owl in the usual broken ash.

March 25th. I took George and Maile around Oaks, we had to climb up on the slope to avoid the flooded trail. George loved the off trail scramble. I found the screech owl in it's usual site in the broken ash tree.

March 27th. After dark I visited Tryon state park, I heard a very quiet and inconsistent saw-whet owl singing but was never able to see the bird. Two great-horned owls sang from high in the firs. Perhaps they suppressed the saw-whet?

April 1st. I walked Maile out to the Oaks Bottom overlook and was able to view the roosting screech owl in the broken ash from the bluff.

April 2nd. I checked on the Oaks Screech owl and found it from the bluff in the usual ash tree.

George, Maile and I drove out to Cottonwood Canyon for our first camping trip of the year. We stopped at Locust Grove Lane. Three years ago I had found a great horned owl nest low in a small tree. This year the birds had moved across the road into a more appropriate site, high in a cottonwood tree.

George and I explored some old barns at Cottonwood Canyon. I was trilled to find a roosting screech owl int he barn. A Sherman county first for me. This is only the second time I have found screech owls roosting in a barn-the other was in similar habitat in Eastern Washington.

Across the John Day river George and I took an evening walk. We found a herd of big horn sheep, illuminated by the setting sun walking across a hillside. We also found a barn owl in a rocky crevice. (My sister and I, had seen an adult and some large juveniles in May in the same crevice a couple of years ago). In the middle of the night George woke me, I comforted him and he soon went back to sleep. I lay in the tent and listened to a singing great-horned owl.

April 3rd. I checked on the screech owl in the barn at Cottonwood Canyon-it was in the same place as yesterday. Ditto for the nesting Great horned owl at Locust Grove Drive in Wasco county.

April 8th. The whole family went to Willow Bar on Sauvie's Island. Along the way we checked on the nesting great-horned owl at Coon Point. We could easily see one adult owl standing on the nest. After a hike to the beach I checked a barn and found a roosting barn owl.

Later that afternoon I took Maile out to Oaks Bottom. I found a screech owl sunning itself in the now semi-regular site-a south facing crack in an Oak tree. I found a second screech owl in the usual broken ash tree.

After dinner, George, Maile and I took a walk in Tryon State Park. Since the big maple they nested in for years was blown down in a winter storm I have failed to find barred owls in the park. Today was different-we got brilliant views of the big owl, perched out in the open.

April 9th. I took Maile for a walk along Oaks Bottom and found a screech owl in the usual broken ash.

April 10th. I spent the morning at Powell Butte Nature Park looking for pygmy owls. The weather was cold and windy and I came up short. I did find a cedar that was splattered with owl whitewash. I returned after dark hoping for a saw whet. Instead I heard a pair of screech owls singing close to the cedar. I was able to spotlight one quite low in a tree.

April 15th. I walked Maile around Oaks Bottom. I watched the screech owl in the broken ash. Today the bird was originally much more exposed than usual only to climb back down the cavity and completely disappear. I am curious if this cavity is the nest site.

April 16th. Andy Frank had suggested a couple of locations in Forest Park to look for pygmy owls. I tried them both, and at the second got good views of a singing bird. On the way back down Leif Erickson I discovered a big beautiful barred owl, very low in a conifer and close to the trail.

April 17th. I took Maile out to Tryon Creek in search of barred owls. I failed to find any barred owls, but did see a pair of pygmy owls, easily detected by scolding robins. 

April 22nd I took the boys out camping at Lower Sawyer Campground, on Lake Billy Chinook in Jefferson County. While taping for pygmy owl at the camp ground we heard a screech owl respond. Later that evening I got good views of a pair of screech owls at the campground. On and off for the first half of the night I could hear them singing from the tent. At times they sang from a juniper just a few feet above us.

April 23rd. George and I were awoken in the tent by a pair of great-horned owls singing. George started hooting back, but then promptly fell back to sleep. Charlie slept through the whole performance.

April 24th. I took George out to Powell Butte in search of pygmy owls. No small owls today, but we did hear a lot of scolding Stellar's jays, and later a singing great-horned owl. I carried George through a nettle patch. I heard a great horned owl squawk, an unfamiliar call for me. Then the owl flew quite close, low and fast, a couple of times. We got brilliant views of this big bold owl. I was a little nervous it might attack us, and I kept a wary eye on it as I backed up the trail.

April 30th My alarm woke me at 5am, and drove sleepily up to Tryon Creek. My intention was to locate the resident family of barred owls which had nested there for years. They had been displaced by last winter's storms which had brought down the big maple they nested in. Walking into the park I was accompanied by dozen of singing robins in the gloam. Nearer the center of the park I heard a distant pygmy owl. Then nearby, one, then two and finally three barred owls. (This family has been composed of three breeding birds for several years. Its assumed that one of a pair's offspring assists them with rearing the young).

I tried to track down the pygmy owl, whose song carried for 1/4 mile. I got close, but it remained stubbornly high in a tall Doug fir and out of view for me.

As it got lighter I returned to the barred owls, which were now showing wonderfully as they few around. Sometimes accompanied by scolding robins. At other times they just loafed around quiet obviously, low on the sides of big trees. It's been ages since I have seen the three of them together.

May 1st. I decided to check out a spotted owl territory near Spirit Mountain Casino in Polk County. I was a little dismayed to round a corner of the forest road and find it closed to logging. Undeterred Maile and I went commando, and snuck around the logging operation and resumed our journey on foot to a nice patch of old growth. It was sad to hear the chainsaws and bulldozers just a mile fro where I had seen a pair of spotted owls last May.

I saw gray jays and heard a lot of singing birds, but found no spotted owls. On the way home I found a lovely barn owl at Baskett Slough.

May 6-8th. Determined to see a California spotted owl I drove down I5 to Ashland with Maile. I decided to break my journey in Ashland. There I met with Lee French and Karl Schneck, two local birders who kindly took me up to the Howard Prairie area in search of great gray owls. We visited about half a dozen sites, twice, making two circuits. Unfortunately we were unable to find any great-grays.

I said goodbye and ventured up to Emigrant Lake in search of screech owls. Surprising I could not locate any screech owls in the oak woods. I did find a couple of skunks-fortunately Maile was on leash. Later I drove up towards Grizzly Mountain, trying for both screech and saw-whet owls, but found neither.

I camped in a quarry. It was a cold night, well below freezing. Despite her short fur, Maile slept through the night.

I repeated the circuit around Howard Prairie. It was beautiful with patches of snow and a heavy frost. I saw a heard of elk and a flock of cranes on the prairie, but no great-grays. Lower down, in the mixed oak and coniferous forest I tried for pygmy owl, but came up short. Just before town I checked a great-horned owl nest Lee and Karl had shown me yesterday. I could see a big fluffy juvenile and a mother owl standing guard.

By now it was mid morning. I set off on the long drive down to Chester California, arriving there in the early afternoon. I met Paula Shaklee, a owl biologist who had kindly agreed to take me out to look for the California spotted owls. We took a series of dirt roads out to a ridge, covered in second growth fir forest. It took a few minutes before the male owl responded to Paula's excellent imitations. She found him fairly low in a fir.

We got fantastic views of this lovely owl. I couldn't detect a difference in the song from the northern birds, but could see the more extensive white spotting below, gave an overall more whitish appearance to the breast. The base color of the brown plumage was paler than the Northern birds. What a beautiful bird. While we were watching a big accipiter flew overhead, causing the owl to press itself against the trunk of the tree and watch the hawk carefully. I could have watched him all afternoon, but I still had a ways to go.

On the road back to Ashland I found a Subaru that had just slain a deer. I drug the deer off the road and went to check on the driver, a young German dude. I offered to drive him to the next town, but he was determined to drive his Subaru even though it was leaking a little coolant.

I had decided to break my journey at Ashland again. I met up with Karl again. He had kindly offered to help me find screech and barn owls on his property. We came up short, but Karl then called a rancher, and we got to check on a nest of barn owls in a nearby barn.

Karl suggested Lithia Park for screech owls, which I checked, but came up short. I drove up to the same quarry high above town and camped under a bright moon.

I tried the circuit yet again for great-grays, but they must be hiding in the shadows.

May 9th. It was a beautiful spring evening and my son, George, wanted to go to Tryon Life Community Farm to check out the goats and chickens. This was a perfect excuse to visit Tryon Park and look for owls. After feeding the goats fresh maple leaves, we ventured into the park. Almost immediately we heard a distant pygmy owl.

Down the trail we met a photographer who showed us a recently fledged barred owl. Later George and I found an adult bird, perched very low on a branch-we got brilliant views of it, as it ignore us and scanned the forest floor for prey.

May 10th. I walked Maile to the overlook at Oaks Bottom to check on the screech owls. It had been a few weeks since I had seen them, but today I could see movement through the top hole. Maile and I scrambled down the slope, and from the trail we could look up and see a screech owl, ears erect and looking super slim, leaning outside the usual hole.

May 13th. I took George and Maile down to Tryon to check on the barred owls. I was carrying George in a kid carrier, which I set down for a minute. Being long legged, George was able to stand up, while still in the carrier. He took off down the trail, looking hilarious, until he tripped and bloodied his nose. In typical George fashion he didn't let it let him down. We soon found two beautiful adult barred owls.

May 14th. I returned to Tryon again. This time just with Maile and found an adult and juvenile barred owls perched together in a Doug Fir.

May 15th. I set my alarm for 3am and drove up to Larch Mountain. (I had two consecutive car break-ins there, and had sworn off Larch, but that was a few years ago, and I figured very early morning was likely safest). The road was still gated due to snow, so I parked there and hiked down. I found a singing saw-whet in a wonderful mossy, log strewn slope. I got under the owl, but never saw it. Eventually the sky lightened and it stopping singing. In the same area I found a pygmy owl singing high from a road-side fir.

May 17th. George and I visited Tryon after work in search of barred owls. A pair of scolding Bewick's wrens led us to a lovely barred owl perched low in a tree.

May 25th. Charlie and I spent 10 days visiting my family in Limpsfield, Surrey, England.  It took a few days before I could get out into the woods for some owling. In a lovely beech wood I heard a young tawny owl begging for food. Within a few minutes I tracked it down in a small Scots pine. It was fully grown, but still partially covered in down.

May 27th. Still in England, Dad, Fiona, Rosie, Charlie and I took a walk in the woods. A scolding blackbird gave away the presence of a lovely roosting adult tawny owl.

Later that night I tired a different area. As soon as I reached the edge of the village I heard two juvenile tawny owls begging for food. I was able to find one, high in a beech tree.

I hiked off the ridge, down to a dry chalk valley below. In a large field I found both a little owl (and heard distant cries of nestlings), and a delicate, very pale barn owl.

On the way back up the road I saw both juvenile tawny owls together in the big beech tree.  Farther down the hill an adult tawny called.

May 28th. I took my sister out to look for the young tawny owls that I had found last night. We eventually found one, silhouetted in a Scot's pine. New moon behind.

June 3rd. I went camping with Charlie, George and Maile by Lost Creek (near Zigzag). Close to midnight I woke to a singing saw whet owl.The song was noticeably short, and lacked vigor-perhaps because it was so late in the season.

June 11th-12th. I drove out to Spring Creek, Union County in search of Great-Gray Owls. Laura Mahrt and Laura Navarrete had kindly helped me with good directions to two territories.

At the first site I was greeted by a lot of mosquitoes. After a couple of minutes I heard a juvenile bird begging. After a few minutes of walking around with my neck craned skyward, I found it right at the top of a tall snag. I walked around for another half hour, but was unable to find any adults-which was my real goal-they are just the most amazing looking owls.

I drove through some deep puddles to get to the second site. As soon as I got out the car, I could hear several juveniles begging. I walked under some big conifers trying to count the young-there were at least three, when I notice a lovely adult great-gray. This was a fairly brown bird, compared to others I have seen. I backed off and watched it from a distance. It began hunting, and when it dove from a perch, all the young birds started begging.

I cooked up some beans and tortillas for diner, then returned to the original territory. By now it was evening, and it sounded like there were three juveniles begging. I relocated the same juvenile at the top of a snag, then caught sight of a huge adult bird near by. It stared at me, and hooted very softly. The young birds fell silent. It was awesome to see this owl, it appeared grayer-toned than the other adult, and definitely more handsome. I was unsure if the soft hoots were an antecedent to an attack-I was definitely being starred at. After a couple of minutes I retreated.

Next I drove up to Indian lake in search of flammulated owls, but I came up short. I retreated back off the Umatilla Reservation into the National Forest and camped. After a nice fire and hot breakfast I walked Maile and searched for pygmy owls. Again no luck. We did see a really big bear though.

I drove home by way of Alkali Canyon and saw a beautiful short-eared owl.

June 18th. I set my alarm for 3am, and staggered out of bed. After warming up some coffee, I drove out to the south end of Oaks Bottom in hopes of finding a recently fledged family of screech owls. Alas all I heard were beavers in the water.

Before it got light, I drove out to Tryon to see if I could find great-horned owls. Again I came up short. I checked out the usual area where a family of barred owls had been living, but again nothing. By now it was light and I could hear a pygmy owl singing from near the visitor's center. I headed back towards the car. On the way, a pair of robins alerted me to a possible owl. Soon I found an adult barred and two juveniles. (I am sure these are the same birds I had been finding in May, only that they had flown about a third of a mile to a new area). The adult owl was carrying a small mole in it's talons.

June 19th. This morning I got up at 430am, reheated my coffee and headed out to Macleay Creek in forest park. I soon located a lovely barred owl perched above the trail. It gave me pause to walk under this bird, but I did without incident. Two begging and hungry juveniles were easily found a little further up the trail.

I walked along Wildwood trail and returned down Leif Erikson road, where scolding robin lead me to another barred owl bathing in a tiny creek. (Nearby I could hear other groups of robins and Stellar's jays scolding, so perhaps there was a family of barred owls here)?

June 24-26th. While visiting the Sister's area with the family I managed to do some owling. On the 24th, I tried Green Ridge (Jefferson county) and saw a flammulated owl. (First of the year).  I then drove south of Black Butte Ranch. At my first stop, in some scraggly pines, I found a pair of dueting screech owls. I was able to spotlight one bird. A little higher up I heard both a saw-whet and two flammulated owls singing in the same area, but was unable to spotlight any of them.
Early on the 26th, I drove up the Black Butte I heard one Fammulated owl lower down, along with a saw whet owl. Quite high on the road, I found a second saw-whet, and this time I got excellent views of this beautiful owl. 

July 2nd. We spent a couple of nights with Tui's family at Millersylvania State Park. With the goal of finding breeding boreal owls at Sunrise, Mt Rainier. I drove out through the south side of the park. A low mist hung in the valley near Packwood. I came close top hitting a deer obscured by mist. I saw loads of roadside deer, elk and a couple of beautiful dark Cascade red foxes.

Despite the snow I was able to hike the trails around Sunrise. I failed to see or hear and boreals. After a couple of hours the sky lightened. Walking back along hard-packed snow I heard a couple of hermit thrushes scolding something deep in the shadows of a twisted mountain pine. I sat still and waited. Eventually a fairly biggish owl flew out and perched nearby. In silhouette, I could make out its ears and slender profile. A long-eared owl! My fourth at Sunrise, and first for 2017. Lovely.

July 11th. I woke at 130am and drove out to Oak Island on Sauvie. I walked the entire look and heard a young great-horned begging, and a distant adult singing. It was a beautiful night, with a huge moon. I watched the dawn from the old abandoned farm, looking across Sturgeon Lake to Mt Saint Helens. At Coon Point I found a large fledgling begging an adult bird.

No barn owls at the old barn by Willow bar, but a family of otters was a great consolation.

July 23rd. I followed up on a lead about spotted owls in Tillamook county. I was dubious about this one because spotted owl is rare in the north part of the coast range. Also I knew the site was crappy looking second growth forest and was dubious it would attract a spotted owl.

I hiked four miles into the mountains with Maile. It was a beautiful warm night and Maile was loving a long hike without a leash. I arrived at the top of the trail just after sunset. I walked slowly down the trail and listened for owls. An hour later and I had not heard a note. Then I caught a distant spotted across the canyon. The terrain was really steep and thick with salmonberry, small drop offs and downed trees. It took ages to coax Maile through all this mess down to the creek-bed below. We hiked up the creek, but the owl had fallen silent.

Still what a  great owl to find here in Tillamook. Rather than climb up to the trail we hike down the creek. Things soon deteriorated with log jams to scramble over and slippery river rocks to balance on. Eventually Mail got caught in a tangle of salmonberries. It took me a while to find her. She was silent, so she didn't make it easy. When I did find her, I pulled her through the thicket, and we made a bee line up the side of the canyon to the trail-which was mercifully close the creek at this point.The rest of the hike I plotted my return.

July 28th I had intended on returning to the site in Tillamook for another attempt at the spotted owl, but was distracted by a report of a spotted owl along the Clackamas River. I drove out there on a warm evening and hiked through some lovely old growth with Maile. We saw nothing. On the return, after nightfall I heard both an adult and juvenile barred owl (in the general area where the spotted was reported), but was unable to see them in the massive trees.

Aug 5th. A coworker had  shown me  a photo of some recently fledged screech owls taken in Reed Canyon. I set my alarm for 4am and drove out there. After the heatwave of this week it was wonderful to be in the almost cool sixty degree air. I quickly found a pair of singing adult screech owls and got brief view of one as it flew overhead.
The whole family returned mid morning and I checked the thickets for roosting owls but found none.

Aug 7th. While visiting family in Seattle I decided to head up to Sunrise near Mt Rainier in search of boreal owls. I slept for about an hour, then left Seattle at midnight. I explored the entrance road and Sourdough Ridge trail. I was lucky to find a long eared owl in silhouette on a lone spruce tree in a meadow.
Nearby I found a juvenile boreal owl. My first in ages! The dawn from the ridge was amazing, more so because the forest fires in Canada had dirtied up the air, creating a lovely soft sunrise. After it got light, I really scoured the mosaic of ancient conifers and meadows in search of a roosting family of boreals, but could not find them.
 
Aug 28th-it had been three weeks since I had seen an owl. I set my alarm for 330am and set off on a hot night to look for local screech owls. My first site was a location near 82nd ave, that a friend of Tui had seen "small owls on the wires". I walked around for half an hour, but could solicit no more than a few barking dogs.
Next I stopped at Mt Tabor park, where I quickly found a screech owl in the same group of trees I had seen one a decade ago.
My next stop was Reed Collage Place, where I heard one screech owl bark and saw a second on a wire.
Finally, I visited Tideman Johnson Park, but failed to turn up anything there.

Sep 9-10th. We visited Tui's family in Seattle this weekend and I took the opportunity to search for boreal owls at Sunrise, Rainier. After a really dry summer, we had a drizzly Saturday evening. I set off after dark, and drove up to Sunrise. I was dismayed when I arrived at the turn off and found the road closed. Undeterred, I found a way past the cones, and a partially closed gate at White River. I drove cautiously up the road, just in case there was a landslide or some other danger on the road. She start of the road was shrouded in dense mist.

I opted to park just before the lodge, just in case there were any rangers who might chase me away. I hiked to the trail, where a sign informed me that the area was closed due to forest fires. It was a cold, damp night, so it was hard to take the risk of fires seriously. From time to time I smelled smoke, but I couldn't find any other signs of fire.

Down by a meadow, I heard a boreal owl call three times, but despite searching could not locate it. Back along the entrance road I saw a long eared owl actively hunting-the third time I have found one here this year.

The drive back was hard-I was really drowsy, and their is no place to buy coffee for the first 50 miles.

Sep 23-24th. I drove up the recently burned Columbia Gorge and out to Yakima on a lovely sunny fall afternoon. From Yakima, I headed West into Ahtanum State Forest. I drove high into the mountains, stopping only when my way was blocked by new snow next to Clover Flats Campground. As soon as I parked, I was appalled to find coolant leaking from the radiator. I decided to deal with this after I owled the mountain. I had about an hour before nightfall, so hiked own the road to a viewpoint with Maile.

Back at the car, I prepped for owling at waited for it to get dark

Once it got dark, I started up the road, hiking into sparse pine scrub close to 7000', then descending into taller spruce and fir forests. It was a most beautiful hike accompanied by shooting stars and singing coyotes. I wished upon the shooting stars for boreal owls, but my wish went unanswered. I did lure in a silent long-eared owl, and got stunning views of a perched bird low in a fir tree.

I returned to the car around midnight to find a coyote howling nearby, and Maile in a state of great alertness. I replenished the radiator with two pints of ice-cold stream water. Then freewheeled off the mountains, down to the relative warmth of the canyon far below. On the way down we passed a great-horned owl and a young bull elk. We camped by the river, sharing an unzipped sleeping bag for warmth.

I woke pretty early, it was frosty outside. I broke down the tent, and hit the road early, concerned I would have to track down a new radiator in Yakima. Surprisingly the radiator, held all the way into town without leaking, so I decided to risk the long drive back to Portland. I kept the car at 50 mph, which made for a slow journey, but the civic made it back.

Sep 30th . George, Maile and I went for a little hike on Powell Butte. I heard a singing pygmy owl, but was unable to see it.

Oct 2nd. I took Maile to the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park. Near Newton road I heard a singing pygmy owl, which I was unable to see.

Oct 23rd. I hiked Maile in the West Hills near Cornelius Pass, and heard a pygmy owl call a couple of times. Just like the lest two times, I was unable to see it.

Oct 29th. I got up at 5am and drove out to the Sandy River Delta. Saw whets had been photographed breeding this spring and I wanted to see if I could find them there. I was able to detect them calling, but was unable to see one. 

Driving by the Troutdale airport I found a perched barn owl on a roadside sign before dawn. 

At first light we reached Broughton Beach on the Columbia River. Maile and I walked the edge of the beach, and after a few minutes we flushed a short-eared owl from the rough grass. 

Oct 30th. The night before, George, Maile and I camped at Cottonwood Canyon. We had a beautiful evening watching the sun set as big horned scrambled above us. It was a cold frosty night, but George slept soundly. A couple of times tundra swans called as the flew over us during the night.

The next day we found a roosting screech owl across the river in Gilliam County. George was thrilled. We hiked along the river to a cliff side barn owl roost, but found only pellets. On way back to the car I lifted George onto my shoulders. While doing this his sturdy feet kicked my bins clean off, over the back my head. They landed on the trail with a disturbing thud. Years ago I had bought these binoculars with a second job working as a caregiver at a foster home. They mean a lot to me, not only because of all the beautiful owls they have helped me see, but also because it was a hardship to save enough money to buy them. I shook the bins several times to check for rattles. None. Then peered critically at flying ravens and power lines for tell tale signs of double vision. None. What a relief! 

On the drive home we visited De Moss county park, and found a gorgeous pale barred owl, roosting about 20' from a great-horned owl.

Nov 5th. During a day time walk in Reed Canyon I found a probably roost site. I returned at dusk and saw a barred owl.

Nov 11th. At dusk I headed to Tryon state park. I didn't see any owls, but heard a pair of duetting great-horned owls, and later a saw whet owl.

Nov 12th. George and I returned to Tryon during the day to look for the great-horned owls. We checked out a few families of scolding Stellar's jays, but failed to find any great-horneds. We did hear a barred owl singing spontaneously which was a nice surprise.

That afternoon I returned to Reed Canyon and found a lovely roosting barred owl in a small fir.

Nov 13th. I returned to Reed Canyon with Maile and relocated the roosting barred owl a few trees over.

I then returned to Tryon and tried to find either barred or great-horned owls in the quiet gullies, but came up short.

Later I hiked Maile around the South end of Oaks Bottom and found a screech owl roosting in the broken ash tree. This is the first time I have seen it there since the spring.

Nov 18th. On route to Reed Canyon, I checked the overlook at Oaks Bottom, and glimpsed a roosting screech owl far below in the broken ash tree.

At Reed Canyon the boys and I got good views of the barred owl in it's usual roost site. This is the first time Charlie had used the binoculars on an owl; "it's like it's right there", he exclaimed.

At dusk I hiked Maile around Tryon and found a pair of great-horned owls singing from the same dead snag. It was brilliant to relocate them-I think they have held territory around Lewis and Clark campus for a couple of years, but this is the first time I have seen them in Tryon this year. It was great to see the white throat puff out as they sang.

Nov 19th I got up early and tried both Tabor and Laurelhurst parks for recently reported barred owls, but failed to find anything. I arrived at first light at Vanport Wetlands, where I saw one of a pair of singing great-horned owls. This bird sang from a horizontal position with a slightly cocked tail.

Nov 20th. I tried for the Oaks Bottom screech and Reed Canyon barred owls but failed with both. Maile and I then hiked Broughton Beach in search of short-eared owl, but again came up short. Near IKEA, I tried for barn owl in a stand of dense cedars, where I inadvertently flushed one.

Nov 23rd. At Oaks Bottom overlook I found the screech owl roosting in the usual ash tree.  

Nov 25th. Again at Oaks I found the screech at the usual site.

Nov 27th. Tui was off sick this Monday with a cold. The sun came out after a couple of days rain and I managed to convince her to visit Reed Canyon for a short walk where we found the barred owl roosting in a small fir tree. 

Dec 2nd. It rained all day. By dusk I drug the kids and Maile out to Reed Canyon in search of the barred owl. It had already flown the roost. A little higher up the canyon I found it high in a maple tree. The big owl, moved its head rapidly side to side, before taking to the wing. I was wonderful to see it wild and actively hunting from the canopy (rather than roosting in the shelter of the firs).

Dec 2nd. George was a little sick this morning, so we lounged around for a few hours. At midday we went to check on the Reed barred owl, and found it staring at us from it's usual perch.

Later we check on the Oak's screech, which was at it's usual cavity in the broken ash. Then we headed out to Oak Island Road, and found two female barn owls, and a pair of great-horned owls roosting by the slough. After dark we found another great horned owl, silhouetted in an oak tree along Reeder Road.

Dec 3rd. I walked Oaks bottom before dawn hoping for a saw whet owl, but came up short. However after sunrise I found the screech owl in the usual cavity.

I walked Tryon park later in the day and found a singing pygmy owl high in a Doug fir. The first one I have seen in a few months.

Dec 4th. While walking Maile in Westmoreland park, under a bright moon,  I found a big barred owl perched in a snag above the creek. 

Dec 9th. My friend Andy Frank emailed me a picture of a screech owl in his yard taken this morning. I took the whole family over to Andy's, where we were treated to this brilliant view of an alert screech owl:

A couple of minutes after we arrived, a scrub jay found the owl and scolded it. Moments later the owl retreated into it's tree hole.

Later I drove out to the overlook at Oaks and found the screech owl in it's usual roost in the broken ash. I stopped by Reed Canyon and quickly found the barred owl in a small fir.

Late that afternoon, George and I drove out to Scappose Bottoms. We had to wait until dusk, but were rewarded with 2-4 short-eared owls flying over a wet pasture. (It was hard to be certain how many birds were out there as the light had faded). Nearby we heard a pair of duetting great-horned owls. While searching for them a second pair set it's self up on the other side of the road. We were able to see three of the four owls singing. We got great views of the birds in silhouette, perched horizontally, tails cocked, singing against the last light of the winter sky.

Dec 10th. Hoping to repeat yesterday's success, I took George and Maile to Sauvie's island late in the afternoon. We checked out Oak Island Road and found a lone great-horned owl roosting in an ivy-clad cottonwood.

Next we hiked Wapato loop. It was a beautiful evening, with clear skies. George was fascinated by the ice on the mole hills and fallen leaves. We chanced upon a hunting barred owl perched by the edge of the water. Back at the car I saw a saw-whet fly bat-like overhead. It's slightly rattle like call confirmed it's identity.

Dec 16th. I checked Reed Canyon and quickly found the barred owl roosting in the usual Doug fir. At dusk I hiked along the side of Oaks Bottom, and saw the screech owl emerge from it's usual cavity in the broken ash. Usually I see this bird asleep, so it was great to see it looking around.

Dec 17th. I decided to go to Coos county in search of owls. In the hills above Lakeside I heard a singing pygmy owl. At Bandon Marsh I enjoyed two beautiful short-eared owls quartering the grasslands. I waited for the sun to set.

Once it was dark I worked North Bank lane where I found a calling barn owl and two calling saw-whet owls. I wanted to stay later, but it was a long drive home.

Dec 23rd. I went out owling (daytime) with my good friend John Fitchen. First stop was Reed Canyon where we easily found the barred owl. Then we drove out to Sauvies Island. Near Willow Bar we found a roadside barred owl, low in a cotton wood. This big owl preened itself and as it dried out in the weak winter sun.

We found the usual pair of great-horned owls roosting low in a big cottonwood along Oak Island Road. John also found a barn owl, which unfortunately flushed. Atypically John was ahead of me, so I missed it.

Dec 24th. We headed up to Federal Way for Christmas, where we met up with Tui's family. That afternoon we all drove out to Nisqually NWR. Amazingly it snowed for the whole drive, and by the time we arrived everything was covered in a couple of inches of wet snow. A pair of scolding Bewick's wrens gave away a gorgeous tiny saw-whet owl roosting low in a fir tree. George and Charlie marveled at it's size. A perfect home-made Christmas present.

Dec 26th. I had the boys today, so we headed out to Reed Canyon, where we all saw the usual barred owl in the small fir. The real treat was a lovely screech owl roosting nearby illuminated in full sun.

Later we went sledding at Laurelhurst Park. On our way back to the car, we were shown an actively hunting barred owl chasing a lucky to escape winter wren. We were all really excited by the owls indifference to us as it hunted just a few yards from the trail.

Dec 27th. I checked the over look at Oaks Bottom and glimpsed the screech owl nestled in the usual cavity in the broken ash tree.

Dec 31st. At the end of the day I walked Maile to the overlook at Oaks bottom and glimpsed the screech owl tucked away in it's cavity in the broken ash tree. Last owl of the year.

88

Chile 2016

In search of the buho.

In Chile the common word for owl is buho an onomatopoeic of a singing owl.

Tui and I decided to take a trip to Chile. It seemed like a great place to travel because it had some new owls (two or three depending on taxonomy), but not so many that I could not be a good husband and participate with Tui. Dad had kindly agreed to come watch the boys while we were away. My target owls were:
Rufous legged owl and Austral pygmy-owl, both lifers. A possible split is field owl, which is the Southern South American race/species of short-eared owl. I was also interested to see barn owls, as this species has been heavily split. I also wanted to get a better a look at Magellanic owl. This is a bird I had seen in silhouette at a stake out near Lima. However I had not seen the bird in color, nor had I heard it sing. Finally the last target was burrowing owl, a bird I had seen many times, but none-the-less a great little owl.

Sep 16th. Dad drives us to PDX. After we had check in Tui drops her purse with $500 cash and her credit card. After a tense twenty minutes it shows up at Lost and Found. We fly to Houston, then onward for a red-eye to Santiago. It is a good flight and I am able to sleep.

Sep 17th. I wake at first light as we fly over Northern Chile. Our final decent into Santiago is through thick cloud, with water streaking over the windows. It takes ages to get through immigration. At the far side of customs we meet our guide: Esteban Martinez ( es.martinezf@gmail.com ). Esteban is a non professional guide (his main gig is environmental consultanting). He proves to be a hard working and conscientious guide, who ensures we both have a great trip.
We pick up a flashy silver Peugeot rental. In no time we hit the road and drive by wind-blow trash and creek-side shanty communities under a blanket of cold gray skies. An hour later we reach Batuco-a wetland surround by cactus clad hills and farms. The sun has burnt off the clouds, it is warm, and to the East the Andes rise high above. We spend a couple of hours working the tall pasture trying to flush a field owl, but all we find are a family of three burrowing owls. It is a great place for birds, and the field were full of lapwings, Andean geese and other birds. Tui flushes a nesting teal and startles herself. I am a little worried about field owl-from ebird I know it is the hardest owl to find in central Chile.
After exhausting the best looking grassland we head out to Olmue, our destination for the next five nights. We stop along the way for mote (a peach and corn drink) and some amazing olives in Til-til. We arrive in Olmue, (a market town and gateway to Parc Nacional Campana) and find our cabin-a pretty cool place in a lemon orchard. Esteban and I visit the park entrance to ask permission to enter the park after hours. Marko the boss, gives us the OK. The three of us go out and eat regular Chilean food, which is hearty and delicious.
It's late, 11pm, by the time we drop Tui back off at the cabin. I am itching to get out into the field and look for rufous legged owl. We head out to El Granizo, which is a secondary entrance to the park. (It's the night before independence day, and the rangers warned us the campground at El Canon Grande, the main entrance, is noisy and full of people). Despite the late hour we are met by a friendly ranger, who talks at great length about the owls. I can barley suppress my impatience to get out into the forest. Eventually the talkative ranger wishes us good luck and we are released. We head up a rough jeep road under a bright moon. A few minutes later and we hear the rufous legged owl sing. (It's known locally as concon, which as an approximation of it's song). It's by far my most wanted owl in Chile. Esteban imitates its song, and soon we have three owls above us. I get brief views of two in flight, but before we can spotlight them they move off. Esteban calls out to them, and we soon track them down to the creek-side forest. Its thick dry stuff, and impossible to walk through quietly. After ten minutes of calling to the owls they fall silent. We wait for a while, contemplating what to do next. My eyes skyward, I see a curious owl fly in to a dead snag next to us. We get beautiful view of it in the torchlight. Lovely! It's tawny-owl sized with dark eyes. Its upper parts is a warm-brown, heavily barred white. The underparts are light buffy, heavily barred a mid-brown. The thighs and facial disk are both rufous.
We hike a little more, mostly because the owl was so easy it seems wrong to just go back to bed. Far above us a distant Magellanic horned owl sings from the rocky hills. He is too far to track down. We also hear a second group of concons singing but don't chase them. It's about 1am when we return to the cabin. I set my alarm for 5am, when we agree to return to the park look for Austral Pygmy owl.

Sep 18th. With my watch buried below layers of heavy blankets I sleep through my alarm. I wake at 730am to the sound of lapwings. I knock on Esteban's door, and soon we were drive up to Canon Grande. (Esteban had kindly scoped out the park a month ago a reported that he heard 5-10 singing Austral pygmy owls before dawn). We hike through the campground into some patchy forest. Nothing is calling so Esteban imitated a pygmy owl. Compared to other pygmy owls, Australs have a very hurried and high pitched song. Moments later from high on the hill side one responds! It is an extremely steep scramble through some thickety patches of forest before I finally catch up with a singing owl bombarded by an angry hummingbird. I had not expected much because Mikkola's "Owls of the world" shows some photos of uninspiring gray-phase birds. However this is a beautiful brown-phase bird, with rich colors. Its quite a large pygmy owl, with typical yellow eyes and an occipital face. Its tail is barred with about 10 buffy bars. Brilliant-what a great start to the trip. We return to the cabin and sleep until late morning. When I finally get up, Tui has made a delicious breakfast out of last night's left overs.
We decide to head to Valparaiso for some non-birding time. Valparaiso is a wonderful city. It's a sort of antipodean San Francisco, but with less yuppies.  We check out the hills, ride a funicular, eat ceviche and check out some really great counter-culture murals.

By late afternoon, we are back on an owling agenda. We visit a small private reserve about 6 km north of Con Con, a coastal town north of Valparaiso. The owner explains they have barn owl nesting in a palm, in their yard. We are shown the tree, but the bird is well hidden. They also report Magellanic owl roosting in some pines on the dunes, and field owl hunting on the saltmarshes. All this is very exciting-my three remaining targets all occur in this idyllic coastal reserve.  We walk out to a railroad track that overlooks the saltmarshes and watch the sun set over the Pacific. It's a gorgeous evening. Alas the field owl fails to show. (It has not been reported for a few months, so it's by no means a sure thing). After dark we go to the pines and tape for the Magellanic. We get no response at all. A little deflated we walk by to the headquarters and flush a barn owl from a fence. Minutes later we get brilliant views of a delicate, pale male perched on the side of a palm. We talk with the owner of the reserve for a while, drinking hot tea by a small bonfire.
Its getting late, so we grab a half dozen empanadas in Con Con and feast on them while steaming up the windows of the Peugeot. Back at the cabin Esteban and I agree to return to the reserve to try again for the field and Magellanic owls.

Sep 19th. With difficulty I rouse myself at 5am, wake Esteban and drive back down to the coast. We parked at the reserve headquarters, catching a barn owl in the headlamps. It is completely dark when we arrive so we check out the pines in the dunes for Magellanic owl. Despite taping and lots of careful listening we heard nothing. I suspect perhaps the big owl is someplace else. We hear an Austral Pygmy owl. We try for a minute to find it, but the pine it's in was absolutely covered in pygmy-owl sized cones, and in the gloaming we could not make it out.
As the skies lighten we make our way to the grasslands in search of the field owl. It was just a lovely cold dawn. The sky was perfect, and the we smell the ocean and hear the Dominican gulls squabble. Despite our vigilance from the top of a tall dune we can't find the field owl. I'm starting to worry about this one. There are few reports in the area on ebird. Recently there have been reports from Concepcion, but its a long (8 hour drive) and I doubt Tui would be thrilled to visit Chile's gritty city.
We spend the rest of the day with Tui, checking out Quintero-a small seaside town just up the coast. We eat our fill of fish from the ocean, while watching giant petrels and skuas. It is about six by the time we catch our bearings and realize that we better set off for Las Palmas de Ocoa on the north side of Parc Nacional La Campana. (The rangers at the park had explained to Esteban that this was a good site for Magellanic owl). It is a slow drive through small towns. Then the car runs low on gas, every few minutes the alarm chimes a warning. Tui isn't too impressed with my choice to press on, but the sun had set and I was eager to reprise this morning's performance with a good owl sighting.
The rangers are super helpful, directing us to a specific grove of palms. I drive up the bumpy dirt track as a fast as our low slung Peugeot allows, then sprint through the twilight down a short nature trail. At the end of the trail the two big owls sing their Chilean name "Tucuquere". Beautiful birds, singing from their palms surrounded by high rocky hills. I pursue the nearest bird up a rocky hillside. It's a thick mess of thorns and lose rocks. At the top, just 25' away, the big owl sings softly in silhouette from a small thorn tree. Back in the palms, Tui, Esteban and I spotlight it's mate as it flies over.
Tui and I are really struck by the place, it was so beautiful and perfect.

Back at the entrance we are given a half price deal on admission thanks to our short visit. It's a tense drive to the nearest gas station. We make it back to the cabin late.

Sep 20th We wake at a civilized hour and pack. Tui had booked a different cabin in town for our last two nights at Olmue. We drop off our gear at the new cabin, then drive Esteban back to Santiago. On the way into town we stop at Puente Negro, a site near Batuco, where field owl has occurred many times, (but no recent reports on ebird). It was noon, so we don't stop and look for the owl. I make plans to return at dawn.
We say goodbye to Esteban in a parking structure down town. He is a great guide, and we both really enjoyed his company. Tui and I then head for a fish market where we find ceviche and pisco sours. That afternoon we visit the Museo Chileo de Art Precolmbino. Tui really appreciates the cafe's offerings:

It's amazing to think of all the millions of people who have lived on this continent for thousands of years and all how their beliefs and are mostly forgotten. We also walk Cerro Santa Lucia for great views of Santiago. We easily make our way out of Santiago. I was hoping for roadside views of owls as we drove home, but we see nothing. Our new cabin was nothing special-most fixtures are broken (like the toilet, some of the power, the hot water) and the bedding is damp. Still we are tired and I sleep soundly.

Sep 21st. I wake at 530am and scramble into the Peugeot. The drive to Puente Negro involves a big pass between Olmue and Til-til. The Peugeot is brilliant-it was clad with huge tires set on stiff springs. I drive it through the hairpin bends as fast as I dare and the car grips tenacious like a cat. I reach Puente Negro in good time. It's situated on a straightway on a well used road that crosses some wet pastures. I have to park a half kilometer from the best area and walk back along the busy road, pressing myself against the crash barriers as the rush hour commuters speed by in the darkness. I make it to the viewing area just in time to see the field owl flyover the road. In the first light of dawn I see it's clearly a field owl, with a streaked (not barred chest), and relatively long thin wings and a buoyant flight-unlike a Magellanic owl. The owl flies to the north, gaining height, and finally disappearing. I wait until the sun rises, but don't see another. Wow, what a great find!

I find a classic rock station on the car's radio and listen triumphantly to Soundgarden and Nirvana on the drive back to Olmue.
Tui is pretty happy about my find. Having seen all the owls we are now free to do non-owling things for the rest of the trip. Despite having paid for another night, we ditch the damp cabin. We drive up to La Serena that day, We get to walk the center of town that evening and enjoy a rooftop beer from our hotel.

Sep 22nd. We drive up to La Vicuna, a beautiful little mountain town.

There we visit the museum of Gabriela Mistral, That afternoon we visit Pisco Aba, a piscura were we get to see how pisco is made, and drink a little too. From there we pick up a young hitchhiker, Martin, and drive further into the mountains, stopping at Pisco Elqui, an even cuter mountain town. There we eat great Chilean food while watching the sun set on the snow covered peaks high above.

Sep 23rd. I get up at 5am and drive up the valley in search of owls. The area I explore isn't that great-there are a lot of cars on the road, and noise from the river does not help. I do hear a singing Austral Pygmy owl. It's near a farm, and though I get close I never see it, feeling inhibited to trespass through the farm yard.

Tui and I drive up to Cochiguaz, where we walk along a mountain stream.

Later we visit Guayacan Brewery, where I get to drink unbelievably good beer while listening to Bob Dylan.

That evening we take an astronomy tour, under an enormous southern night sky. This really is an amazing place.

Sep 24th. I awaken a little sad, knowing this is our last day in Chile. We make our way back south, stopping for lunch at Termas de Socos, a small hot springs resort set in an oasis. It's grounds are beautiful and full of birds. We soak in a tub, but it's nothing to special-sort of like taking a bath in an 1920s bathroom. The food is pretty amazing though. The rest of our journey to Santiago and flight home all go just fine.

Sep 25th. We meet my dad and our boys at the MAX station by our home. The boys are well, and Dad did a great job caring for them.

Oman 2016

"Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet

We sit here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it"

In 2014 a coworker, Kathleen, emailed me a link about the discovery of a new species of owl in Oman. "Had I had heard all about it?" I hadn't, but a little research revealed it was a Hume's-like Strix owl. I immediately started day dreaming and in early 2016 bought a ticket from Seatac to Dubai. An owling trip to the Emirates and Oman had 7 potential new owls for me: Pharaoh eagle-owl, Arabian eagle-owl, pallid scops-owl, Arabian scops-owl, Omani owl, Hume's owl and Lillith's owl.

A lot of people helped me with this trip, especially Rene Pop, Magnus Robb, Jens Eriksen, Tommy Pedersen, Shaun Coyle and Dave Ward.

March 17th. Although I had originally planned on flying up to Seatac, by the time I priced tickets from Portland they were $400 for the 160 mile trip so I decided to drive. After a day's work, I put the boys to bed and have a coffee on the couch with my wife Tui. "You pack light". "Yep, I know". We say goodbye, and I set off on a cold, mostly clear night. A gibbous waxing moon followed my little white car north along the freeway.

The drive to Seatac went well and I pull into long-term parking just after midnight.

March 18th. It took just a few minutes to catch the bus to the terminal. There I scope out a nice bench to sleep on. I unpack my bag to get my sleeping bag. FUCK. My owling gear was at home! 30 more seconds of frantic digging confirmed the worst. I quickly execute the math. There was time, barring traffic problems, to make the drive home and pick it up. It was 1am and I have a 930am flight. It's painful to wait for the long-term parking bus to pick me up, and then lumber slowly through the terminals back to the car.

Once at the Civic, I bolt onto the freeway and drive eighty. Past suburbs full of sleeping people, farms, and forests, all the way into my driveway. Tui's surprised and confused. I am literally home for twenty seconds, then hit the road again. this time fighting sleep, all the way back to Seatac, arriving at the terminal before sunup. At the gate I sleep profoundly for an hour, then board the big plane. It's 14 hours to Dubai, and I sleep for most of them.

Arriving at Dubai is smooth. At Hertz I collect my RAV4, Maureen at the desk warns I might not be able to get it across the border to Oman, because I don't have the original registration. It takes me a couple of hours to reach the border. I fixate on this problem, but it's redundant as the border crossing is easy for me.

Once in Oman, its about 350 fast kilometers to Rustaq, a small town at the foothills of the Al Hajar Mountains. From there I drive into a large, high-walled wadi, where the Omani owl has been reported. By now it's 730pm, and recently dark.  It had rained last week, and there was lots of standing water and the air was thick with little mosquitoes.I do my best to ignore them. While sorting out my owling gear I hear a distant pallid scops-owl. I track one down and enjoy a great view in a gnarled elb tree. They are common here. They have a surprisingly deep monotonous call. It's yellow eyed, with ear tufts and dark streaks on it's underparts, most strongly marked on it's chest. The bird's gray, lacking brown tones.

I start to explore the wadi. High on the cliffs goats, bleat sounding like calling owls. I do hear Omani owls a few times, but always high above me, calling very sporadically. I fret they are incubating, a time that owls can be elusive. This place is tough, the walls of the wadi tower hundreds of meters above me, and above them mountains for thousands of meters. Its a wild and impossible place.

I walk the wadi for 7 hours, then drive to a side canyon and explore it, until the huge boulders become too much. I return to the wadi, and continue my search 'till 5am. Exhausted I crawl into the back of the car and sleep 'till noon.

March 20th. I had slept with the windows open.

Eventually the assorted biting flies and heat from the midday sun was too much. I get up and re-read the site info I have from my friend Shaun who was hear a couple of months ago and saw two Omani owls at different sites. I realized his second site is about 15km away, and I plan to work that site tonight.

I head into Rustaq, and eat some Pakistani food. After lunch I set out looking for internet, but bad traffic and spotty directions defeat me and I return to the mountains, to Shaun's second site. His photos enable me to pinpoint the exact place he had camped when he heard the owls. This site was very different from the one I worked last night.  It is made up of rocky hills, which were much more accessible, though still no walk in the park. By now it was about 4pm, and I spend a  couple of hours before dusk exploring the navigable wadis and tracks that penetrate the hills.

Waiting by the car, just after sun set, I hear a very distant Omai owl call spontaneously, once, twice, three times. I set off into the area, fast. I need to cover 1-2km before it gets completely dark.

It takes a while to really get into the hills where the owl called from, and once there I don't hear anything. I work my way around to other nearby Wadis. Still nothing. Walking a big wadi I spotlight a pair of eyes on the cliff-I'm thrilled for a minute, until I walk closer and the realization that I'm looking at a fox sinks in. Closer to the road I hear a Lillith's owl, which responds very aggressively to the tape. I get great views of this are strange little owls. It's darker than the typical Lillith's. I work the area until 11pm, then return to last night's big wadi.

Back in the big wadi I worked last night I try the specific patch of cliff where Shaun had had the owl just two months before. Nothing. I try the entrance to this wadi, but it's full of huge car sized boulders and it's slow going. Foxes and wild cats prowl the cliffs, their brilliant eyes fool me every time.

My next gambit is to try a similar wadi 3km to the west. I had checked this out earlier today and it looked very good. Under a beautiful moon I hiked this wadi for a few km. More foxes-their brilliantly reflective eyes owl-like. Hungry mosquitoes torment me. Deafening as I try and listen for the owls that won't call. Jackals do. They sing freely. Rocks fall from high above and far away. Echoing spectacularly.

Back at the original wadi. I walk the road, spotlighting the cliffs, looking for eye-shine and listening.

At 4am I give up and sleep in the car.

March 21st. Beep, beep. Its 6am. It's time to get up. The forecast is for rain and blustery winds, so my plan is to head to the south of Oman. There I can escape the bad weather and search for three other new owls. I take a swig of water of plastic-tasting and hit the road.

I hoped to take a shortcut south through the Al Haraj mountains, but apparently its a bad road, so I ended going the long the long way through Muscat. All 1200km! Once I clear Muscat, traffic calms down. I headed south from there, through Nizwa. South of Nizwa the road crossed a vast plain of featureless, stony flat wastelands.

I listened to Radio Oman, which wasn't good, but I missed it all the same when I lost the signal. At a lonely gas station, in the middle of nothing I find a hitch hiker. He's from Bangalore, and is heading to Salalah. He speaks very little English, but is clearly very happy to be given water. We listen to Public Enemy and drive. The last 200km before town were a struggle to stay awake.

Salalah was bigger than I expect, and traffic was dense. I drop off my hitchhiker as the sun set, and set off up the Coast to Ain Hamran. It was dark when I arrived at the small wooded park in the foothills of the coastal mountains. I immediately heard several Arabian scops-owls. It took just a couple of minutes to tape out two, one I saw really well. It's a tiny little scops, with little ear tufts. yellow eyes and unfeathered legs. It was a lot less crisply marked than the Pallid scops. The chest had a splotchy affect, that gave the owl a smudgy appearance. It's call was very distinctive-a loud cricket-like scratchy trill

While working on the scops-owl I hear a distant Arabian eagle-owl. A few minutes later it had fallen silent and no amount of taping, or wandering around and spotlighting the few big trees revealed it. It was a small area to cover and by 930pm I had decide to try one of the other nearby sites for this species.

 My next site was Ayn Torqua, also situated in the foothills of the coast range. I find a beautiful spring surrounded by big riparian trees. I notice the frogs singing at the pool where the same as those singing on the recording I use. Perhaps they are frog eaters? Despite this I didn't hear any Eagle-owls, though scops called without provocation. By now it was 11pm and I was starting to worry so I pressed on to Wadi Dharbat-a park, also set in the foothills of the coastal mountains.

I park up and walk down to the wadi. In response to my tape an Arabian eagle-owl sang-a two note soft call, the first note longer. It was on the far side of a body of water, that had been helpfully labeled as having bilharzia. Teetering on the edge of the water I play my tape and peer into the trees on the far side for signs of life.  Eventually the owl flew across the water, and over me to some scrubby woodland beyond the car. I scramble up the rocky slope, my heart beating in my throat. I found the beautiful big owl, perched atop of a open scrubby tree. It sang, in silhouette against the moonlight, then disappears back across the water.

I pursue it some more, trying to get a better view, while not getting bilharzia, but never saw it again. By now it was midnight and I am really exhausted. I return to the car and crawl in to the passenger's seat. It was a beautiful night, warm and perfect under a huge white moon. A barn owl screamed in the distance, but I ignore and sleep.

March 22nd.  I wake up feeling good about last night. It's 9am, the sun's high and the car is hot inside. I set off into Salalah. I eat breakfast at a Indian fast food place. Then I track down the internet in an old school gym of all places. I email Tui and solicit help from a couple Omani birding contacts. I am all set and ready to go by noon. I head northeast along the coast to Ash Shuwaymiyyah. It's an amazing drive, with huge limestone cliffs plunging into the Indian ocean.

The road hugs the coast for an hour, then climbs dramatically over the cliffs, then descends to a beautiful palm fringed lagoon, before climbing the huge cliffs again and finally returning to the coastal plane.

At Ash Shuwaymiyyah I eat fish and rice, then head inland up Ash Shuwaymiyyah Wadi. This is an amazing place-a wide wadi, described by high cliffs, set in the austere desert. In the cliffs are a series of beautiful lush hanging gardens fed by springs. the whole place is utterly beautiful. It gets better as the sun begins to set.

At the end of the road I park up and explore. At dusk I climb above the hanging garden and play my tape.

Far away a distant Hume's owl sings back to me. Then another sings, closer. It's across the wadi. I run down the steep rocky slope, and across the expanse of the flat wadi bottom up to the cliffs on the far side. It's a long run, but the owl continues to sing from up on the wadi wall. It's a big cliff, and I am unable to coax the owl into view. I find a buttress to climb up, that will bring me closer. It's not easy scrambling over lose steep rocks, and by the time I'm level with where the owl was singing from it's moved 500m along the wall. I scramble back down the rocks as quietly, and quickly as I can and make my way under the owl. Then climb the steep slope, until the slope becomes a cliff face. there I tape. The owl sings back to me, beautifully. A lonely sincere solicitation: one long note, followed by two shorter paired notes. I start to scan the wall with my flashlight. The scale of this place is vast, and the limits of the flashlight obvious. Then a brown owl flies from high on the wall, closer and lands on the wall level with me. It's far enough away I can only make out the eye shine, its brown mantle and lighter underparts. Still it's a magical bird-an owl I have dreamed of seeing ever since I first read about it as a school boy.

I'm so thrilled I practically floated back across the wadi to the car. I decide to celebrate by setting up the tent. This place is too beautiful to sleep in the crappy car that smells like air-freshener. I find a piece of flat ground and make my pitch. I fall asleep to a singing Hume's high on the wadi wall.

March 23rd.  I wake in the middle of the night, the little tent's rattled by a strong wind. The full moons shining through the tent and it's impossible to sleep. I retreat to the car and sleep soundly until first light.

I decide to head back to the Al Hajar mountains in the north of Oman to try again for Omani owl. I take a walk in the wadi, just to get some exercise before the long day's drive ahead. Then I drive out the wadi and up to a town called Shalim.

My map shows a direct road that runs north to Nizwa and Muscat, Two different guys at the gas station assure me that's not the way, and point me to an indirect coast road. I reluctantly head out that way, hoping that I will meet the direct road along the way. After a couple of hours drive I see a sign for Muscat. I take this road, which for an hours is great, its a fast road through the interior. At an oil field the pavement runs out, but a good grave road continues to the north east. I follow this out into no-mans land of oil infrastructure and desolate wastelands. there is nothing here, certainly no people to ask. All the signs read for different oil fields. After another hour the road starts to zig zag pointlessly across the flat lands. It's incredibly hot out, and it's hard to not be concerned. According to my map, and the odometer I should have met up with the main Muscat-Salalah road by now. Eventally I come to a "road closed" sign, then to my left a  road that followed a pipeline that was marked "private". I travel for a few minutes down this road, but my gas is down to a third of a tank and I don't have the heart to continue. It's a hot tedious drive back to the coast. The whole side trip is 320km. As a further indignity, by the time I make it to the coast I retreat another 20km back to the nearest gas station.

I am back on track-though it's 1pm and a long drive to Nizwa. I eat some Indian food, the drive on. Near Duqm I pick up Salah, a hitchhiker. He's an English teacher from Syria, heading back to his home in Sinaw. Understandably he has a lot to say about Syria.

After a couple of hours of driving under blue skies and a big hot sun, the skies turn chocolate colored.

A big wind picks up, and soon we are driving through a dust storm. It's impossible to see more than 100m and even though the road is straight, the situation feels ominous. Soon the storm breaks and it starts to rain. Cars ahead start to flash their lights in warning. Salah tells me of a wadi ahead that might be flooded. Two weeks ago he had to spend the night at a mosque on the banks of the wadi waiting for the waters to recede.

Sure enough we reach the flooded wadi. It's a big expanse of brown water-about 100m. Uncertain we stop at it's edge and think. Then on the far side a 4wd Hilux starts to cross. The Hilux makes it no problem. It looks like the water is knee height. We set off, very slowly. My foot freezes, barely on the gas as we edge through the brown water. It feels like we are stalling, probably from the effort it takes to push through the water. I'm horrified at the prospect of killing the car. But we emerge triumphantly from the brown water. We are both jubilant. Salah thanks Allah.

It's a little after dark by the time I arrive in Sinaw. I drop off Salah, check my email-no new leads on Omani owl, then head off to a wadi behind Birkat. I work both a couple of side wadi's that are steep and boulder strewn, and the main flat bottomed gravel wadi.  It was a beautiful night with a big moon. I hear an Omani owl and climb quickly up the  rocky side of the wadi to get closer, but the scale of the walls, and the indifference of the owl to my tape is overwhelming. I hear a couple of other Omani owls, but they are all far away, high above and unresponsive.

I do find several sets of eyes, foxes, cats goats and big lizards, each for a moment is exciting, then inevitably disappointing as the truth reveals itself. I did hear four pallid scops-owls, and see one, singing from the wall of the wadi, like a miniature Omani owl. I return to the car at 5am and sleep.

March 24th. I wake in the hot car mid-morning, Dehydrated and groggy I drive to Nizwa.

I find a posh hotel-I think that's the only type here. I shower and wash my stinking socks, then sleep till late in the afternoon.

It's Indian for dinner, then I return to the wadi near Birkat.

Some Pallid scops-owls sing their modest call. I spotlight several foxes and three cats. No Omani owls at all, not even calls. Still it was a most beautiful night, with a big moon illuminating impossibly rugged mountains that rise out of the wadi bed. I pass through a small village in the wadi, doing my best to walk in the shadows and my passing goes unnoticed. I walk twenty kilometers-and venture deeper into the wadi where clear waters flow and frogs sing. It's technical terrain up there and I scramble over a labyrinth of huge boulders to get deeper into the wadi. I'm done by 4am, and return to my hotel to sleep until check out.

March 25th.  I make the most of the hotel's breakfast then head out to the Wadi near Rustaq. This involves a longish drive via Muscat around the Al Hajar mountains. Once in the area I end up exploring an alternate canyon 20km to the west. The cliffs look promising, and they are a little less imposing. I wait for darkness, then walk along the road taping occasionally for Omani owl. In response all I hear area a couple of Pallid scops. The wadi isn't that ideal-their are just too many cars, so I decide to return to the original site I had worked on my first two nights in Oman. 

I begin at Shaun's old site, by the rocky hills. This time, I work a larger area and climb high into the barren hills. I hear a single call from an Omani owl, and climb high into the hills to get close. Alas the bird is indifferent to my taping and reluctantly I give up. I find a Pallid scops-owl singing from a large cavity in the wadi wall and a few foxes. Below a scrub fire, fills the bowl with smoke-illuminated white by the moon, and encircle in huge mountains it's a magical night. 

Around midnight I head back to the original site. On the road I pass a convoy of  a dozen cars. The lead vehicle is a jeep, and hanging onto the roll cage are a couple of guys with big guns. Only in Oman is this NOT a concerning situation. The last car that passes is decorated with balloons and ribbons and it's now clear its a wedding party. I pull up a few kilometers away and hear some spectacular gun shots echoing off the cliffs above. I had a particular wall staked out for the owls, and climbed as high as I could into the cliffs. The view from up high of the long shadows and mountains in silhouette is amazing. The Omani owls remains mute. 

I return to the wadi bed and walk 4km to the end, taping and listening to foxes, mosquitoes, goats and scops-owls. At Shaun's other site, I hear a single distant contact call from an Omani owl-it's 3am on my last night, so it's pretty much my last chance. I run across the wadi bed, and as quietly as I can scramble up the small cliffs and rocks to get up to the calling owl. It calls again and I am able to hone in real close. I really couldn't have been more excited-my heart is pounding out my chest. I'm hearing a  goat cough. I'm a little gutted. Still there are two hours'till dawn. A small shooting star passes overhead.  I walk and spotlight the cliffs for eye-shine. I find a few more goats, but no owls. A muezzin calls the faithful to pray. The sound fills the enormity of the whole place. The sky is unquestionably fading to blue. 

March 26th. I'd drunk a half gallon of mountain dew and eaten 800mg of caffeine tabs last night. All through the night I'd ridden a nice caffeine high. Now I'm trying to sleep and it's hopeless. After an hour I gave up and hit the road, heading for the Emirates. The drive to the border at Al Buraimi was fast an easy.

I ate great Indian food in Al Buraimi. Then get stuck in a long line at the wrong border crossing that was open only to locals. Eventually I get to the Hili crossing and make my way into the Emirates. The first thing I notice are women everywhere in sharp contrast to rural Oman, where the only women I saw where passengers in cars. I headed to Qarn Nazwa, a limestone outcrop in the vast sands that's a known site for Pharaoh eagle-owl. I have really good directions from my friend Dave. I parked up in the heat of the day and set off to explore the outcrop. I have a good idea of where the owl roosted-in some small caves/holes set in a small cliff. I work the area thoroughly, but don't find either owls, or pellets or feathers. Where ever the owl sleeps it wasn't the holes I checked. 

I did scare up three dainty Arabian Antelope and a jackal. I have plenty of time, so walk about checking more holes for roosting owls, but all I find are a couple of feral cats. I set my self up on a small peak and enjoy the sunset.

A pair of ravens starts dive bombing something at the far end of the escarpment. I run along the ridge to get closer-sure they must be mobbing an owl. Eventually when I am a couple hundred meters away I see they are mobbing the jackal. I settle down and continue scanning the skyline for the big owl. It's pretty noisy here-there is a major road just 500m away, and it's hard to listen for owls. I try taping but get no response. Then I notice a group of white figures below. I am amazed to see a group of Oryx. (It turns out the reserve is set aside for Oryx, so it's not such a surprise). 

While walking the ridge, without my snake guards and without the aid of my light I pass and angry coiled saw-scaled viper-not one to stand on. 

I try taping a few more places, but traffic is noisy is so  I decide to set up camp in the sand and try again at 1am, when it's quieter. My alarm goes off and I dutifully go out and tape for the big owl-even though it's quieter out, I get no response. I set my alarm for 5am. I wake instead to the muezzin. It's still dark and I get my gear together and head back up to the escarpment in search of the big owl. Well there is nothing. I pack my little tent and set off in the cool morning towards to glowing sodium light of Dubai. "Fool Gold" plays on the radio. I'm speeding on the empty highway so I don't miss my flight. 

2016 owling

Intro

I live in Portland Oregon with my wife Tui, two sons Charlie (aged 5) and George (aged 2), and dog Ziggy. This entry details my owling exploits for 2016 around Portland and further afield in the Pacific Northwest.

Jan 1st. It was a bright freezing morning. I took George (in the stroller) and Ziggy to Reed Canyon. The wind blew from the frozen east through the gorge and blasted us. Fortunately my heart was warmed by a lovely barred owl roosting in the usual Doug fir at the west end of Reed Canyon.

We returned by Oaks Bottom overlook, and checked the old ash tree for roosting screech owls to no avail. Later that afternoon I returned to Oaks and walked around the east side of the wetland. I checked the old ash again, but the owl was still gone. I found several small firs splattered with white-wash, but none had roosting owls in them. On the way back I checked the old ash one last time and found a screech owl roosting in the usual cavity. (I reckon that it had been in the same cavity all along and had just made its way closer to the entrance as the sun began to set).

Jan 2nd Another bright freezing day with strong easterlies. Late in the afternoon I revisited the Doug fir at the west end of Reed and enjoyed great views of the barred owl. I walked the whole canyon, but found no other owls.

Jan 3rd. It snowed today. I revisited the Doug fir in Reed Canyon but failed to find the barred owl. Later I returned to the canyon and found clumps of screech owl feathers under a big cedar.

Death in the snow
Sure enough a deadly barred owl was perched about 15' above me.

Jan 4th This morning I had planned to head to southeastern Washington with Konchog in search of long-eared owls. Instead we were pinned down by an ice storm. By noon the main roads looked good, so I ventured to the Eugene area. First stop was Mt Pisgah in search of pygmy owl. It was raw and rained on and off-hardly surprisingly no pygmies were calling.

Next stop was Meadowlark Prairie in search of short-eared owls. I had to wait until it was quiet dark before seeing a distant bird quartering the wet grasslands next to a northern harrier for comparison. Also in the area were three lovely rough legged hawks.

From there I drove out to the end of Royal Avenue, by Fern Ridge. I immediately found a great horned owl silhouette in a small willow tree.

Finally I tried Oakhill Cemetery. A pair of great-horned duetted in the tall firs.

Jan 9th. A couple of days ago Andy Frank had reported 3 short-eared owls roosting on the banks of the Colombia. I walked the riverbank near the airport and after 45 minutes of searching found a dark (female?) bird roosting in a grassy tussock. The bird flushed almost immediately and flew out into the river, then returned to land 1/4 mile downstream. The roosting spot was clearly well used because it was thickly coated with whitewash and strewn with pellets.

Jan 11th. A friend of mine, Konchog, asked me about seeing long-eared owl. This is a hard bird locally so I asked around. Mike Denny in Walla Walla kindly offered to show us a roost site.

We Met Mike and his wife MerryLinn at Hood Park on the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. They kindly drove us around Walla Walla County in search of owls and other good birds.

Our first stop was at Charbonneau Park, where we flushed barn owl and found a roosting great-horned.

At Fish Hook park we found a second roosting great horned. Additionally we found two lovely saw whet owls, both roosting very low in conifers. Mike mentioned that they almost always chose to roost away from the trunk unlike screech owls which typically roost next tot he trunk.

We drove through the tiny community of Eureka, WA and saw a great horned perched in a back yard cottonwood.

We tried a couple of road-side deciduous thickets along Smith Springs road in search of roosting long-eareds but only found a pair of great-horned owls in a cottonwood. Then at our last site at Smith Springs we found three amazing long eared owls roosting together very low in a riparian deciduous thicket. Fully alert and agitated these amazing owls look like anorexic cats.

Our next site was lower monument dam, where we waited in the cold for a slaty-backed gull, a rare Siberian visitor, which eventually showed much to Konchog's delight. We visited a small quarry where bank swallows had bored tunnels into the sandy banks. Amazingly a flock of rosy finches was using the same tunnels as roosting sites.

We drove back through rough grasslands in search of short-eared owls but found none. Back at Eureka we found a second great-horned roosting high in a concrete grain silo.

Back at Hood park we thanked Mike and MerryLinn for an amazing day then headed home high on owl sightings and caffeine.

Jan 16th. On a rainy Saturday afternoon I drove down to Finley National Wildlife Refuge. By the time I arrived the sky had partially cleared and the weather was dry.

I spent an hour and a half scanning the Prairie Overlook before the first short-eared owl emerged from the tall grass. It quickly climbed several hundred feet then headed north to parks unknown. A couple more owls emerged, one distant, the other quite close by. It perched in a tree and surveyed the prairie for a few minutes before starting to hunt.

Jan 18th. Between the showers I walked around the east side of Oaks Bottom today. At the usual broken ash tree I found two roosting screech owls. This is the first time I have seen an owl using the more open cavity in about a year.

Jan 23rd. Again I walked around the east side of Oaks Bottom. At the usual broken ash tree I found two roosting screech owls, as if frozen since last weekend.

Jan 25th. Brandon Wagner had kindly offered to show me a short-eared owl roost just north of Monmouth in Polk County. Late in the day we saw seven lovely short-eareds emerge from a stubble field and fly south east for some distance to an unknown location.

After a very good diner at Brandon's we ventured out to the foothills on the edge of the Willamette Valley just north of Dallas. We were trying for a nocturnal pygmy owl, but instead were rewarded by a chorus of tree frogs, three singing great-horned owls (two males and a female) and a calling barred owl.

Jan 30th. After the boys went to bed I headed out into the coast range in search of Saw-whet owls. Near Banks my brights shone on a big coyote as it ran across the highway. High in the Coast Range I got caught up in a surprise snow storm. The wet snow was so slick I couldn't drive up into the forest roads. Fortunately I was able to descend to Jewell it was dry and calm. There I found a road-side barn owl perched on a fence post. I also heard a saw whet call in response to playback. This was my first in Clackamas county.

Driving east on Hwy 202 towards Birkenfeld I found two more roadside barn owls, both perched on power lines.

Once I reached Colombia County I started searching for saw-whets again. Despite 20 stops I didn't get a response, or hear any other owls. I did see a roadside elk and coyote. Back home just before 4am.

Jan 31st. Charlie and I took Ziggy for a walk to the overlook above Oaks Bottom. I found the screech owl roosting far below in it's usual hole in the old ash tree.

Feb 6th. The boys and I walked around Oaks Bottom. At the usual old ash tree I found the pair of resident screech owls.

Feb 8th. I traveled out to the hills behind St Helens in Columbia county in search of saw-whet owls. It was a mild and moonless night. Unlike last week, when I could not find a saw-whet in Columbia, this night I found one on my first try. It didn't sing, but screeched and barked. I did get brief views as it flew very low in a vine maple.

Feb 14th. I took George around Oak's bottom and readily found one screech owl in the usual ash tree.

Feb 16th. I set off at 1am to explore Lane County. I started working a mosaic of small fields and woodlots south of Eugene for Barn owls, but came up short. While looking for Screech owls on some dry hillside Oaks and fir forest I was stunned to discover a singing long-eared owl. It's voice had a remarkable toy-trumpet like tone to it. A little further uphill I could hear a pair of great-horned owls duetting. Nearby a pair of saw-whet owls responded to my solicitations. At dawn, but before sunrise, I found a territorial northern pygmy owl on a hillside covered in tall firs-my first for the year.

Feb 21st. Kathy Krall had reported a short-eared owl in the fields around Tillamook. This would be a new owl for my Tillamook list. Charlie and I drove through a torrential downpour in the coast range only to arrive under blue skies in Tillamook. We waited for over two hours until we saw a short-eared owl working the dairy fields. We also saw a lovely female barn owl hunting in broad daylight. This is a common sight in the winter in the UK, but the first time I have seen a day-hunting barn owl in the USA.

Charlie and I celebrated with a trip down to the beach to watch the sunset, followed by a couple of tortas.

Feb 29th. Determined to continue my Lane County owling quest I left home at 1am. My first stop was the north end of the county, near Fern Ridge Reservoir. After about an hour I heard distant barn and great-horned owls.

At Oakhill Cemetery Road I heard a screech owl bark in response to a tape of it's song.

South of Spencer Butte I tried for barred owls. Almost immediately my phone ran out of juice. I decided to walk the road, and luckily heard a pair of barred owls singing from a dense ravine beneath the road.

Mar 5th George and I visited the Barred owl nesting tree at Tryon. After a couple of minutes I found a barred owl roosting in a cedar about 70' from the nest site.

Mar 6th I took the whole family back to Tryon State Park to show them the barred owl. Like a feathered statue, it was on the exact same perch as yesterday.

Later I walked out to Oaks and found the screech owl sunning itself in the usual south facing cavity.

March 12th. George and I returned to Tryon. We found a barred owl roosting next to the nest site. Later that afternoon Charlie and I drove out to Oak Island Road on Sauvie's Island. We saw a very tame beaver cross the road. While watching the beaver from the civic, a great horned owl flew out across the slough. At the north of the island, we found a female barn owl roosting in an abandoned barn.

March 14th, Tui and I returned to Tryon. We failed to find the barred owl near the nest tree. Near the headquarters I found, by luck a pygmy owl, perched low in a maple. I was really pleased as this was my first at Tryon.

April 2nd. Charlie, George and I  went to Steigerwald in search of a burrowing owl that had been reported for a couple of weeks. We were unable to find the burrowing owl, but as a consolation found a dark great-horned owl roosting in a cottonwood.

April 4th. Tui and I went to Vanport to check on the nesting great-horned owls. We found two big chicks in the nest and an adult bird in the same tree.

April 9th. George and I went to check out the barred owls at Tryon Creek. For the first time we could see the female bird in the nest hole-just the top of her head. We saw two other adults-confirming their 3 bird breeding arrangement. All three birds called spectacularly to the delight of us both.

April 10th. I decided to explore Douglas County. My first stop was Mildred Kanipe County Park. I found an aggressive pair of screech owls, a rather silent great-owl and a pair of noisy peacocks.

I worked a lot of fields for barn owl, but came up short.  At dawn, just west of Drain I found four great-horned owls, a saw whet and pygmy owl. All singing around a clearing in some industrial forest.

April 10th. I took the whole family back to Tryon. We found just one barred owl, but got great views all the same.

April 11th. Tui and I walked around Oaks Bottom. At the usual ash tree we found a roosting screech owl. On the return, walking up to Sellwood Park we found a second screech in a tree crack. Amazingly the bird wriggled and shuffled out of the crack as we watched.

April 16th. It was George's birthday weekend so Tui's mom, Lina and her kids were in town. We took everyone, except for her mom to Tryon Creek.

It was a beautiful morning, made better by the owls. A scolding robin cued me into a pygmy owl, perched on the side of a mossy trunk.  At the nest site we found one barred owl. It was roosting, but eventually woke. We were able to watch it preen-which is like watching a cat take a bath. It was amazing to see it run it's bill along it's flank feathers-which must have been 4"-5" long.

That afternoon I took myself to Oaks Bottom and found a screech owl sunning itself from the usual tree.

April 17th. I walked down to Oaks Bottoms, and just like yesterday found a screech owl sunning itself in the usual ash tree.

At sunset I went to check out the Vanport great-horned owl. The young had fledged the nest, but I found an adult (male?), nearby in a cottonwood.

April 23rd. The whole family went to Tryon State Park. We heard a spontaneously calling pygmy owl down by the creek.

At the barred owl nest site we found one actively hunting adult barred owl-I guess the babies are getting big and hungry.

Later I walked to Oaks Bottom overlook to check on the screech owl. Sure enough the owl was sunning itself in the usual cavity of the old ash tree.

April 24th. I took George to Santiam State forest. I was looking for pygmy owls. Unfortunately we had to endure an unstable cold front, and it rained, poured, hailed and was briefly sunny all in a couple of hours. I did hear a couple of pygmy owls, but neither responded aggressively to my tape.

Tui and I took an evening walk to the overlook at Oaks Bottoms. It was a beautiful evening, with big dark clouds over the West Hills and rich yellow light pouring in sideways. We found the screech owl in his usual cavity, looking particularly nice bathed in the soft light.

April 25th. Tui and I went to Tryon Creek on a cool April afternoon. Scolding robins, Stellar's jays and warblers gave up a barred owl. We had to wade through a nettle patch, but it was worth it to find the owl, so close, and perched low, beneath us in a ravine.

We also heard one, or probably two pygmy owls singing spontaneously during the day.

April 30th. A friend had recommended a site in Polk county for spotted owls. Armed with exact directions Tui, Charlie and I drove into the coast range. We arrived just before sunset. Next to a stand of beautiful mature Doug fir we parked. Almost immediately Tui caught site of a shadow. Sure enough an amazingly inquisitive spotted owl had flown in to check us out. It called, and soon it's mate arrived on the scene. These fantastic owls called back and forth as they watched us from just 20'. It was just brilliant. Even Charlie, who is usually reticent about owls was thrilled  by this big chocolate out perched out in the open.

I tried for pygmy owl, which would have been a new one for me in Polk county but got no response.

May 1st. I took the boys to the Oaks Bottom overlook to check on the screech owl. The ash tree still wasn't fully leafed out, making it easy to find the owl sunning itself from it's usual perch.

May 2nd. Tui and I visited the barred owl site at Tryon and found two big fledglings by the entrance of the nest hole. Despite the heat we heard all three adults calling between each other.

May 7th-8th. Charlie, Chad and I returned to Polk county to camp in the Coast Range. Our plans were a little disrupted by a topless lady and her friend at the pygmy owl stakeout. We drown the road, and waited them out before returning to have the place to ourselves. The pygmy owl came right in and we had great views of him singing in the clearcut. We built a fire and cooked carne asada and drank beer in the sun.

Around sunset we checked out last weekend's spotted owl site, but saw nothing except for beautiful big trees. Back at the pygmy owl site we set up camp and built a big fire. When it was almost dark we heard the pygmy owl again. Chad forgot his tent, so it was a tight squeeze, but it worked. In the middle of the night a barred owl sang, and sang.

The next day we cooked bacon and drank hot coffee for ages, before returning to the lowlands. I checked out a barn and found a female barn owl on about 5 small chicks.

May 16th. Tui and I checked out the barred owls at Tryon. We didn't see any young birds, but quickly found two adults thanks to some noisy mobbing jays and robins.

May 21st. I decided to visit central Oregon in search of owls. It was a cool damp night. My first site was SE of Madras for long-eared owl. I was surprised to find deep mud puddles along the usually dry dirt roads. I heard three packs of coyotes and a poorwill but found no long-eareds.

My nest stop was east of Redmond, near Powell Butte in Crook County. I quickly found a couple of responsive screech owls in mature junipers.

Next I tried for screech owl, near Camp Sherman. I didn't find any screech owls in the Ponderosa forest but did hear a single toot of a saw-whet.

At my final stop, a little to the west of Camp Sherman, at the edge of the of the Cascades, I tried for Flammulated owl. By now it was late, and a little windy and I heard nothing. I set up camp and slept soundly despite the wind.

May 22nd. I unzipped the tent to see a group of deer watching me. Minutes lately a coyote carrying a rabbit passed by. I set a small fire and brewed coffee for breakfast. Once I was fully awake I walked along the forest road in search of pygmy owls. The forest was opened up by an old burn, and after an hour I found a singing pygmy owl high in a Ponderosa.

May 30th. Armed with better information from Chuck Gates I returned to Jefferson county and found a day time long-eared owl in a willow thicket. The bird called-a fairly rapid series of short, but deep hoots-presumably an alarm call. I hiked around Gray Butte, and tried for screech owl and listed for great-horned owl but found neither. I did hear a lot of coyotes and saw poorwills and nighthawks.

I also ventured up to Virginia Meissner Sno Park in search of saw whet owls. I was getting tired by now and all I got was a distant flammulated owl. Still it was a lovely place to camp.

May 31st. I tried a couple of spots near Bend for Great gray owl but came up short.

June 12th. I worked Wasco County, near Dufur in search of flammulated owls. I arrived at dusk and was greeted by many nighthawks. Soon poorwills started calling, then from a stand of small pines a flammulated! I ended up getting great views and was able to see the long wings of this long distance migrant.

On the way out I found a great horned owl along Friend road.

I tried for screech owl in Sherman county, but came up short and just heard a couple of chats singing.

June 19th. The whole family took a walk to Oak's bottom. Near the south end of the park I found a lot of white-wash in some small firs. Eventually I found a juvenile screech owl hiding in one of the small firs.
(Charlie and I spent the night near Black Butte looking for owls. We found none-but had a great camping trip and saw a couple of bears and a goshawk. Plus lots of bugs that fascinated Charlie).

June 27th Tui, Maile (the new dog) and I walked McCleay trail in Forest Park. Mid morning we found two quiet active hunting barred owls and heard a begging juvenile.

July 4th. While staying with Tui's family in Federal way I drove out to Sunrise on Mount Rainier. I arrived well before dawn and walked around, listening for begging calls of juvenile boreal owls. Nothing. Once day broke, I checked stands of thick trees for whitewash and pellets of roosting owls but again came up short.

July 10th. The whole family was staying in an AirBnB rental in Bend. Very early in the morning I ventured out to the Suttle lake area. I tried for great-grays, flammulated and saw-whet owls. At times it rained and later it was blustery. The weather and season (mid summer doldrums) conspired against me and I heard and saw no owls.

July 11th. Determined to redeem myself I explored the forests around La Pine. Apart from wishing upon a half dozen shooting stars the night was uneventful and owlless.

July 17th. The whole family went to Tryon for a late afternoon walk. I heard a distant called great-horned owl. Later near the nest side a scolding pair of robins led me to a young barred owl.

That evening I walked out to Sellwood Overlook Park and found a family of screech owls. I saw three young owls-there could have been more. They were very obvious-constantly flying in the canopy of a big oak and begging for food. I was able to see an adult bird, and heard a second.

July 23rd. George, Maile and I headed out to Kinzel Lake for a camping trip. George was a brilliant camper, and we had a lot of fun catching frogs, newts and garter snakes in the lake. That night I heard singing barred owls in the valley below the lake.

Aug 1st. I checked Crystal Springs and Westmoreland for screech owls, but came up short. I tried the south end of Oaks, sleeping past a sleeping man on a bench, I found a quite spot and enjoyed a singing screech owl in silhouette.

Aug 7th. I visited Deschutes county in search of great-gray owls. The juveniles had gained enough independence that their parents were less obliged to hunt during the day than they were last weekend. I hiked 16 miles with Maile in search of the owls. Alas the best I could do was hear a couple of begging calls of a juvenile great-gray owl from the opposite side of the Deschutes.

Once it got dark I heard one or two begging juvenile long-eared owls from a stand of willows-also on the far side of the Deschutes.

I camped by the river, and soon after I settled into the tent I heard two begging great-horned owl juveniles. They triggered a distant barred owl to sing briefly. The great-horneds moved around rapidly. Unsure of what they were, I tracked down one high in a pine.

In the middle of the night, Maile awoke disturbed by an animal. Her growling woke me. Fortunately I could hear deer hoofs outside.

Aug 28th-29th. I drove out to Cottonwood Canyon State Park in search of screech owls. Driving through Fulton Canyon I found a day time road side Great-Horned-a beautiful, fairly pale grayish owl, quite different from the chocolate colored birds of Western Oregon.

I arrived at Cottonwood Canyon at dusk, and hiked in a mile and a half with Maile. It was a hot evening, and in places dense with mosquitoes. I was watched by six big horned sheep, high above from the canyon walls. As it got dark, I heard several poorwills, and found one fluttering along the trail, eventually Maile noticed it and gave chase. On the return I tried for screech owl, but came up short. I did heard the alarm call of long-eared owl from a thicket, but didn't see the bird.

I then tried for screech owls in the small towns of Wasco, Moro and Grass valley, but again came up short. At least in Grass Valley I found a fox, another great-horned owl and heard a barn owl.

It was a long drive south along 97 to Madras, a headache built, and eventually I had the sweats and felt like I was going to puke. I pulled over and tried to sleep, but couldn't. The cool air helped and by midnight was back on the road. I tried Peleton Dam overlook for owls and heard a begging great-horned owl-soon I found the bird perched on a power-line. It's surprising to me that these birds that breed in the winter would be begging so late in the summer. I tried for screech owl, but to no avail.
My last stop was just down the road, at Mecca Flats, where screech owl had also been reported. I was pretty exhausted, and didn't give the site the attention it deserved, and again came up short.

I camped at Mecca Flats, and slept soundly with Maile at my feet.

Sep 5th. The whole family stayed at a cabin at Cape Lookout State Park. I set my alarm for 230am, but woke up just before it went off, excited to see some owls. My plan was to drive into Northern Lincoln County.

Just north of Nestucca a barn owl flew over the car. Near the Cascade Head Experimental Forest center a black bear ran across the road.

My first few stops were unproductive. Then I drove up to drift creek trail-head. I hiked about 1/3 mile down the trail with Maile and heard a barred owl singing. I stopped along Bear Creek road and hiked the road, listening for owls. I heard a second barred owl and a pair of great horned dueted briefly at dawn. I also solicited a couple of pygmy owls with a tape.

Sep 15th. It was the night before Tui and I travelled to Chile. It was warm in our room and we openeded the back door. A barn owl called twice from a tall cedar. Hopefully a good omen.

Sep 26th. My Dad was in town for a couple of weeks. On the last whole day of the visit we decided to climb Dog Mountain in the Columbia Gorge. About a half way up we heard a pygmy owl-it mad a rapid call, similar to a squirrel's alarm call followed by one give away piping note. We were easily able to tape the bird in and got good views under the canopy.

Oct 8th. I took Maile down to Waldo lake to search for boreal owls. We got out onto some rough roads, and I eventually had to abandon the civic and walk. Despite trying for several hours I heard nothing. Maile loved the night hike, and it was nice to have her with me. I always feel safe with a dog.

Back at the car, the only obvious place to pitch the tent was on the road. It was a cold night, and I cuddled up to Maile to stay warm. At 7am, I heard a truck and had to move the tent and car out of the way to let it by.

Oct 17th. After a stormy wet weekend, Maile and I head out to Sauvies Island. After running Maile on the beach I check out an abandoned barn and find a roosting female barn owl. Along Oak Island Road I flush a second barn owl from a small conifer. This one is looks like a male.  Our next stop is McNamee Road where I find a pygmy owl.

Oct 30th. On a dark and damp Sunday afternoon I visited Jackson Bottom wildlife refuge in search of short-eared owls. I found no short-eared, but in the back wood I heard a great-horned owl singing an hour before nightfall.

Oct 31st. I took Maile for a walk around Oaks bottom. I found a beautiful great-horned owl-a relatively small dark bird with rusty cheeks. The bird was resting under a tangle of vines

Nov 11th.I took the boys to Sauvie Island to build a fire on the beach. After we tried a couple of the regular spots for barn owls. I found a nice delicate pale male roosting in a dense cedar.

This evening I checked out the south end of Oaks Bottom. I was surprised to see a squirrel run down a tree after dark. Above it, I could hear a commotion. I assumed it would be a raccoon, but it turned out to be a big barred owl! I got great views of it perched in an oak tree.

Nov 19th. George and I took Maile down to the Sellwood Waterfront Park. After playing along the shore we heard the sound of scolding jays and crows. We followed the sound into a dense thicket of small conifers where we discovered a barred owl doing its best to ignore the harassing corvids.

Nov 20th. I took a late afternoon walk around Oaks Bottom. At the usual broken ash tree I found a roosting screech owl. This is the first time I'd seen an owl in the ash for months.

Nov 25th. George and I were walking Maile through Westmoreland park, when I saw a barred owl hunting from a fence. Unfortunately I flushed it and it disappeared before I could get a better view.

Nov 26th. George and I were walking around Oaks Bottom. Again in the usual roost site in the broken ash tree I found a roosting screech owl.

Nov 27th. In the same broken ash tree I found the screech owl roosting.

Nov 28th. I walked Maile on Oak Island Road (Sauvie Is) and found a (presumed male, fairly small and very dark) great horned owl roosting in ivy. At the usual barn was a roosting barn owl-first time I have seen it here in years, despite checking every time I drive down the road.

Photo taken the next day by Andy Frank

Dec 3rd. I returned with Maile to Oak Is Rd on Sauvie Island. Both the lovely dark great-horned owl and the barn owl were in the same locations. I then drove up to Scappose Bottoms and found a field full of raptors. After quarter of an hour a dark short eared owl emerged from the grass and flew high above the pasture. It repeatedly "clapped" its wings below its body.

Dec 4th. Maile and I walked to the overlook at Oaks this morning, but I was unable to find the roosting screech owl in the old ash tree. Undeterred I walked around the bottom of the bluff this afternoon with George. The view of the cavity is better from bellow and I was able to clearly see the roosting owl.

Dec 5th. It was a wet day with heavy rain and intermittent sleet. Despite this, I was feeling like owling-so far December had been a good month. Maile and I drove out to Reed Canyon and started searching under some wet fir trees for barred owls. I had not found a barred owl at Reed since January, but today was my lucky day. Almost immediately I found a bird roosting low in a fir tree.

Dec 8th. I was lucky enough to be dismissed from work due to impending snow and an ice storm. After sledding with the boys I visited Reed Canyon and re-found a barred owl in the same fir. The bird was grooming and its feathers were puffed out, so it looked twice as large as it did previously.

Later Maile and I took a walk along the base of the bluff at Oaks Bottom. I checked the usual cavity in the broken ash for a screech owl, but it was vacant. On the return I checked again and it was occupied. I assume the cavity goes deep, and the owl was out of sight. Perhaps they move up and down in response to the wind. Or because it was getting close to hunting time?

Dec 9th. I had the morning off work due to the ice storm. The roads were not so bad, so Maile and I drove out to Reed Canyon. The little canyon was filled with the sound of water dripping from the ice-glazed trees. I found the barred owl almost right away-it had moved into an adjacent tree.

Dec 10th. I returned to Reed Canyon with Maile and quickly found the barred owl in the usual place.

Dec 11th. A banner day! I checked out Reed Canyon on my morning walk with Maile. I found a lovely pair of inky-blue Steller's jays by the creek. We come eye to eye with a wet barred owl hiding out low in a dense conifer. I steal a quick view.

Later that morning I took George for a walk along the base of the bluff at Oak's bottom. I didn't find the screech owl at the usual ash tree, but on the return I looked up and found a rain-soaked screech owl at the entrance to a big cavity in a Cottonwood tree.

After lunch George and I went to Sauvie's Island. We found the great-horned owl at the "usual" perch-low in a cottonwood and partially protected by ivy. Despite staying in the car, the bird looked alarmed-ears high, and eyes wide open, so we left quickly.

At the barn I found a female barn owl, tucked, almost out of sight in the corner of the roof.

Determined to find a "new" owl that I had not just seen a week before, I checked out some dense conifers looking for roosting owls. I found nothing and was returning back to the car, when I noticed a dark, rail-thin owl. A long eared owl was roosting at the edge of the conifers! This was a great find for me-the last long-eareds I had found in Multnomah County were a pair at Ramsey Lake in June 2003. I moved on quickly to avoid flushing this special owl.

On a roll, I decided to head out to Scappose to look for short-eared owls. At the wet field I checked out last week I found five short-eared owls. One owl flew around clapping its wings and calling. The others hunted low over the grass. I have a lot of favorite owls, but short-eared owls are probably my favorite to watch. Their deep wing beats and erratic flight is just memorizing.

Dec 12. Maile and I ventured up Skyline Blvd in search of pygmy owls. Our first stop yielded nothing, but Maile was happy to run free. Our second stop was along Leif Erickson trail. Quickly we found a calling pygmy owl, which we were eventually able to see briefly as it flew between two Doug firs.

After lunch I walked Maile out to Reed Canyon, where we found the barred owl in the usual place.

At 9pm I drove out to Tryon in search of saw-whet owls. I had not been night owling in ages. It was a cool night, with a big bright moon. At the entrance to Tryon I ducked behind a tree to avoid the guy who locks the gate, then slipped into the forest. Everything looked absolutely beautiful in the moonlight.  On Saturday while walking with the family I had found a possible saw whet roost site-a pile of whitewash under a thick conifer. I found the roost site, and nearby was a signing saw-whet owl. I tracked it down, doing my best to walk stealthily through the tangle of fallen logs, ferns and blackberries. Eventually I saw it in profile against the sky. I was able to spotlight him and enjoy a beautiful view of this excellent little owl.

Dec 15th. It snowed last night and this morning we were treated to a snow day. I took George out to Reed Canyon. We found the barred owl in the usual tree.

Dec 17th. John and I drove out to Sauvie in search of the long-eared owl I had found there last week. We were unable to locate the long-eared owl. We did venture down Oak Island road, where we found a pair of great-horned owls together at the usual site. Both birds looked remarkably similar, which surprised me-I was expecting the female to look both larger and darker. Perhaps they were not a pair?

The barn was devoid of barn owls, but we did find a male and female barn owl roosting in some snow clad conifers.

Dec 18th. I checked the Oregon Birding listserve after lunch and was shocked to see Bonnie Comegys had reported a burrowing owl at Broughton beach. This is a really rare bird in Multnomah County-one that I had never seen. Knowing it was new for my friend John, I called both numbers and headed to house, but I was unable to get a hold of him. I drove out to Broughton Beach and was surprised to find no other birders around. After walking around for twenty minutes I found the owl in some rocks. I got great views of this fantastic bird. I was able to call John again, and he was heading out to take a look. Soon I was joined by a half dozen other birders. Unfortunately the owl was flushed by a rabbit of all things, then a dog walker, and finally by a birder trying to relocate it-this time it flew over to the airport. We were not able to relocate it on the airport-being greatly hindered by our inability to walk around. Instead we prowled along the fence line scanning across the ever-darkening airfield. Bittersweet we vowed to return tomorrow.

Dec 19th. Determined to help John see the burrowing owl, I returned early with Charlie and Maile in tow. We met Bob Stites out at the site. It was a cold wet morning-not really the best conditions for finding a burrowing owl. Still the weather would deter dog walkers and other birders who could disturb the owl. On the rocky embankment we flushed the owl after a couple of minutes of walking and got nice views. We also saw a coyote, who eyed Maile (as a meal or a mate)? Further along we ran into a hunting male short-eared owl.

John and I were really happy about this one-it had been years since we had seen a county lifer together. Charlie was a good sport, despite the foul weather-we celebrated at Grand Central with coffee and a Christmas cookie.

Dec 27th. I took the boys to Reed Canyon to search for the barred owl. While busy showing Charlie the roosting owl, George climbed out of the canyon and started running away through campus. Much to George's delight I had to chase him down. Charlie admonished me "your kids first dad, then owls".
After Tui returned home from work, I ran down to Oaks with Mail and found, under fast fading light, the roosting screech owl in the usual broken ash tree.

Dec 28th
I took the boys to Willow Bar and build a reluctant fire on the beach. After the fire we ventured down Oak Island Road. I found a single great-horned owl in it's usual roost site-an ivy clad cottonwood. At the thick hedge I eventually found a lovely male barn owl.

Dec 31st. I walked Maile out to the overlook above Oaks Bottom, and could just make out a roosting screech owl far below in a hole in the broken ash tree.

Later the whole family walked Reed Canyon-we found pellets, poop and screech owl remains at the barred owl roost, but no barred owl. Just Like Jan 3rd 2016. The year is framed by screech owls predated by barred owls.