Intro
This is just a catalogue of owl sightings across the world prior to 2011. After that every thing is detailed in owling trip reports on this blog.
Common Barn Owl. Tallentire and Bass Lake (both day time). Hunting on a winter's afternoon, Newton Stewart area of SW Scotland with Dad during February half term, 18th Feb 1990.
American Barn owl August 1994 San Blas fort. Drive towards Cerro Mingus in Ecuador with Shaun, and Pernambuco, Brazil, with Shaun and Torcuil.
Australian masked owl (Tasmanian only) in 1996 I saw a (Tasmanian) masked owl fly in front of my parents VW camper at night.
Australasian grass owl. Seen in March 2002 at dusk at the airfield serving PICOP in eastern Mindanao in the Philippines. It was seen only after several hours of wading through a swamp adjacent to the airport.
Sulawesi masked owl September 2003 I spent a couple of nights looking for this bird. I eventually was taken to a roost site by a guide named Freddie at Tangkoko Nature Reserve. The owl was roosting on a sea cliff. I had to climb from a small boat onto the cliff, and then scale the cliff to a small cave. The cave was guarded by large red ants, who stung me severely before I could get a great close up view of a roosting bird. Having had enough ant bites, I jumped off the cliff and swam back to the boat. I felt quite smug that my companion, an uptight Englishman, didn't see the owl, but was treated to a view of my hairy balls hanging from a hole in my boxer shorts.
Ashy-faced owl, seen in April 2008 in northeastern Dominican Republic. Taken to a nest site in farmland, after dark by a guide working for a local hotel.
Spotted owl seen with tape after dark at Sheelite Canyon. I returned to the Accord, and had only driven a half a mile when I was pulled over by the military police at Fort Huachuca. The fort is only open to visitors during daylight hours. Bones lunged at the officer, surprising both of us, and making a bad situation worse. Fortunately, I was allowed to leave to fort without a citation. (I had visited Sheelite twice before during the daylight hours and had search extensively for a day roosting bird, to no avail). Heard at Beattie's with Tom. Also near Flagstaff roosting with Tom. Seen with David near Dawson's Creek, BC.
Barred owl, seem with David near Dawson's Creek BC in May 2006. Seen at the Tacoma Zoo with Tui, Vai and Lena when looking at Christmas lights December 2009. Heard while camping with Tui in Maine in July 2010.
Great gray owl. Yosemite with Tom in September 2000.
Tawny owl. Seen at Brigham quarry. Heard many nights from my bedroom in Brigham. Seen in a small limestone quarry between Brigham and Eagles Field with Mark.
Brown wood owl, seen on Gunung Mulu, Borneo in 1990.
Himalayan wood-owl, seen in Nepal in 1990.
Ural owl. Seen at dusk in Fiby Urskog, Sweden, with Tui and Charlie, March 2012.
Tawny browed owl-taped and day roost birds at Nova Lombardia, Brazil.
Spectacled owl. A guide at El Gavilan Lodge near La Selva, Costa Rica, showed me a pair of day-time roosting spectacled owls in riparian forest.
Black-banded Owl new ant wren and white-winged potoo site, on the east coast of Brazil.
Black and white owl predawn bird spot-lighted in mist at Buenaventura, Ecuador. Also at Cerro Blanco (Chongon Hills, near Guayaquil),in a gully day roost.
Rufous-banded owl, taped at the Colibri Del Sol reserve, spotlighted in open snag by the river, then seen at the brown-banded antpitta reserve at night-taped with Shaun (he missed the first bird). Finally seen in car headlights at final antpitta site in Columbia.
Spotted wood owl. See at Bajo hotel, Puerto Princessa at dusk.
Little Owl. With John Callion in Workington. Also west of the beach at St Bees, Kings Lynn. Yugoslavia, along a dirt road at night (had thought it was a Scops).
Spotted owlet, seen in northern India in 1990.
Burrowing owl. First seen west of Caracas, Venezuela in semi-desert. Near Casa Grande, Yuma (in city at night Jan 1998), and Salton Sea. Seen with Shaun in Ecuador, on the drive up to Cerro Mingus and a whole family seen at the restinga antwren site near Cabo Frio, just NW of Rio, with Shaun and Torcuil.
Boreal Owl. Taped in 2003 Sunrise, Mount Rainer.
Snowy owl. Fetlar in late June 1990 with Greg. At first it looked like a distant lamb.
Rock eagle-owl, seen in India in 1990.
Eagle owl. East of Canton-pair in a forested grave yard. Heard in the south of France with family.
Great horned owl. First bird at Walnut Canyon. Seen near black-capped gnatcatcher site with Tom.
Grayish Eagle-owl. Paid a forest guard in Gambia to show us a pair of roosting birds in gallery forest.
Verreaux's eagle owl. Seen near Lake Naivasha in Kenya.
Spot-bellied eagle owl. Seen at Gunung Kerinci in Sumatra and Doi Inthanon in Thailand.
Barred eagle-owl, seen in 1990 in Sabah and peninsular Malaysia.
Buffy Fishing owl, seen at near caves at Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak. Flushed in day time. Late afternoon after a recent thunderstorm. Seen minutes after a wonderful Garnet Pitta.
Northern white-faced owl. Spotlighted on Gambian coast.
Mindanao Eagle-owl. See near the "lodge" on Mount Katinglad, Mindanao, after dark.
Mountain scops owl. Seen at Frasier's Hill, Malaysia with Andrew Lawson.
Eurasian scops owl. South of France.
Indian scops owl. Shown a roosting bird at Bharatpur.
Sunda scops. Seen from taxi in farmland in south Sumatra. Later seen at Gunung Gede with guide who claimed it as a Javan scops.
Wallace's scops. See at dawn at a mountain lake in central west Flores.
Sulawesi scops. Taped at night at Tangkoko Nature Reserve in north Sulawesi.
Moluccan scops owl. Taped in at Halmahara.
Madagascan scops, easily taped it at Helmeted Vanga site. (Attempted to tape in a bird, which remained hidden in vines at the nuthatch vanga site). Also was shown a day roosting bird at the main site east of Tana.
Torotoroka scops owl, seen in west Madagascar.
Philippine scops owl. Seen at the site 50 miles south of Manila at night.
Palawan scops owl. Taped in at night, with guide at Penal farm.
Mantanani scops owl. Seen with Shawn and a guide, near Puerto Princessa, on a small Island at night after playing a tape extensively.
Flammulated Owl. First bird 10 miles west of Flagstaff. Seen at nightfall without a tape or flashlight.
Western Screech owl at the Patton's. Also Page Springs fish hatchery.
Eastern screech owl. First bird, a red morph roosting at Key Largo, April 1998 at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.
Pacific screech owl. Seen in Oaxaca in August 2005. After 20 minutes of taping, I started to give up. Dawn was rapidly approaching, and I was unable to climb the bank to get closer to the owl. I eventually started to pick up small rocks from the road side and throw them near the calling owl, in an attempt to flush to bird into view. In the dawn's gloam, I saw a larger white stone and reached for it. "Ahh", the white stone was a wet puddle of toilet paper! Undeterred I continued to throw small stones at the lone tree, until the owl flew from the tree.
Whiskered screech owl, taped in just below the bridge at Madera. My first illegally taped bird? Seen well in the Maglite.
Tropical screech owl seen before dawn after taping at Sooretama reserve, Brazil.
Variable screech owl seen before dawn after taping at Sooretama reserve, Brazil.
Guatemalan (Choco) screech owl, shaken from a tree (after very extensive taping) at Canande' (banded ground-cuckoo) reserve, Ecuador.
Tumbes screech owl, at Quebrada Frejolillo, Limon, Peru. Taped at night with George Wagner. Striped owls heard in the distance.
Colombian screech owl shown by a guide at Arrietrito Antioqueno Reserve, Anori, Antioquia, Colombia.
Santa Marta screech owl taped with difficulty above the lodge at Santa Marta. Subsequently spotlighted twice a little higher up the road.
Madagascar hawk-owl. Seen in southwest Madagascar, after a long night hike. Lots of spear carrying men surrounded the car that had given me a ride for the final few miles.
Philippine hawk owl. Seen at Rajah National park, Bohol at night near cabins.
Chocolate boobook. Seen in the daytime at Siburan Penal colony, Mindoro with Shawn. Roosting on a telephone wire!
Southern boobook. Seen east of Kupang, Timor, while camping in limestone foothills.
Sumba boobook. On a wonderful full moon in September 2003, I went with a guide Freddy Hambuwali, by his quite fast scooter from Waingapu to Lewa. We had tapes and soon were able to lure a Sumba boobook. Continued....Freddie left me in the clearing that night. He warned me that the local people feared foreigners, because of the days when the dutch came to Sumba to catch slaves. Despite this, the night was so beautiful, and the owling so perfect that it was impossible to remain anxious. I camped conspicuously atop of a small grassy hill under the splendid moon.
Little Sumba hawk-owl. After another 30 minutes of owling Freddy and I were able to tape out the recently discovered Little Sumba Hawk-Owl.
Brown hawk owl- found day-time roosting on Mount Kinabalu along Mempening Trail.
Southern boobook (include morepork), seen in mainland southeastern Australia and Tasmania in 1985. Also seen in limestone hills about 100km east of Kupang, Timor in 2003.
Barking owl, seen in New south wales in 1985 and the Northern Territory in 1988.
Northern hawk owl. Sun Valley Idaho, twitched February 2004.Interview and photographed by a Sun Valley journalist.
Boreal Owl after many attempts finally seen at Mount Rainier September 2003 at Paradise. By coincidence there was an Audubon group also looking for boreals. The leader, Ruth Sullivan, was quite hostile towards me and chastised me publicly for using tapes. I set off in the opposite direction and soon had a fly by long eared owl at dusk in response to playback. After about an hour and half of taping a heard a screech. Heart pounding I pursued the calling bird into a thicket of lodge pole pines. Another screech. Then unable to resist I turned on my flashlight and just fifteen feet away an angry little Boreal owl stared down at me. Amazing view, and probably my most wanted bird in the world at that time. I remember playing the radio on my boombox (that I was using to tape out the owls), on the walk out, in the hope of further irritating Ruth, but I did not run into her. Previously I had attempted to to find this bird at Broken top in Oregon. Subsequently I have tried again at Broken Top, multiple times and an all night attempt out in the blue mountains.
Northern saw whet owl. I heard a bird, while camping in September 1999 at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I returned the following year with a tape, but didn't get a response. Then in February 2002 I taped in a screeching bird at Tryon Creek State park.
Elf Owl, seen May 1998 in telephone pole nest site, by Madera Lodge. The previous night I had spent the entire night walking the canyon road hearing elf owls everywhere. Without a tape, I was never able to actually see one.
Eurasian pygmy-owl seen at Fiby Urskog, Sweden in response to a tape. March 2012.
Northern Pygmy Owl. Seen and heard with Tom and Deb, Westfork at dusk, June 1994. Double tooting "mountain" birds. Wintering bird at Beaver Creek. Seen in Colorado, N of Silverton.
Peruvian pygmy-owl.both edge of mangroves near Guayaquil, just north of Loja at high elevation (on a wire, in a small village), at Siniscap, Peru (lifer) seen on a wire in late afternoon), above Santa Eulalia also on wire.
Colima pygmy-owl-Seen July 2002 near San Blas, Nayarit. The bird was originally heard in large canopy trees in a shade grown coffee plantation. It's song is to repeated call a series of whistles, each series is one longer than the rest, five whistles, six whistles, seven whistles etc. I imitated the bird clumsily and by the sixteenth whistle I was getting very out of breath. I was surprised and thrilled to see Colima pygmy owl fly between to large trees with it's distinct undulating flight.
Ferruginous pygmy owl, first seen in March 1991in Henri Pittier National Park, Venezuela. Also seen high in the canopy, being mobbed in Brazil at the pink-legged graveteiro site, in Bahia Brazil.
Ridgeway's pygmy owl. Seen in Mexico.
Collared owlet, seen in SE Asia i 1990.
Jungle owlet, seen in Goa, India in 1990.
Spotted owlet, seen in Nepal in 1990.
Pearl-spotted owlet, seen in Gambia in 1991.
Crested owl, Shawn showed me a day roosting bird in bamboo at Canande' (banded ground-cuckoo) reserve. We had heard birds singing the previous night, but had been unable to lure them in by tape.
Jamaican owl, seen at an upland blackbird site. Taped, then spotlighted in an old roadside quarry after being seen flying by in the Echo's headlights.
Short-eared owl. Day-time migrants on the north Norfolk coast. Siddick-first bird with Mark. Loch Lomand area with Parents. Orkney with Greg. Several birds near Sage Grouse lek at Weiser, Idaho. Evening bird hunting over saltmarsh, Mull of Kintyre with Tui.
Long-eared owl. Day time migrants on North Norfolk coast. Probable heard bird 20 miles SW of Flagstaff. Taped in bird (to Boreal Owl), Sunrise, Mount Rainer. Also taped in a bird on Labor day weekend 2008 to a boreal owl tape at Broken Top, Oregon.
Madagascar long-eared owl. Flew by in response to tape at main birding site east of Tana.
African marsh owl. perched on a light at Tana airport. First bird of the trip. September 2004.
Stygian Owl. In April 2008 I found pellets at a water tank in SW Dominican republic, near Haiti. I waited in the car until dusk, when I heard a low deep hoot. Thankfully I had brought with me a recording of Stygian Owl. i played a tape once, and the bird immediately flew into a pine tree. I was able to spotlight this magnificent owl for a few seconds before it flew away. best bird of the trip.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Multnomah owls
Intro
A catalog of owling sightings from my home county-Multnomah, Oregon prior to 2011, when I took up owling in earnest. Much more on Multnomah's owls can be read at the 2011 owling, 2012 owling, 2013 owling and 2014 owling....
Barn Owl. Roosting birds in Sauvie barns, under the Max bridge near IKEA, Blue Lake (Cyprus trees). Active birds at Willow Bar and Oak Island road and Exit 17. Dead birds at Smith and Bybee and Exit 18. Roosting bird, pines east of NE 13th (Tricolored blackbird site).
Great horned owl. Above Bonneville Dam at 800' with John July 2009. Nesting at Sauvie (Oak Is, Sturgeon Lake, Oak Is Rd and 3 miles south of Rentenar Rd) and Bybee Lake. Active birds at Exit 18, south Oaks Bottom, Tryon Ck and the Metro property on Multnomah Channel (near Rocky Point). Columbia waste water treatment plant, by the sculptures, roosting in a Doug fir.
Western screech owl. Active birds at Oak Is Rd, Maywood Dr (spring 2009), Yukon (winter 2010) and in Woodstock (winter 2011). Also SW Portland park and at the Vietnam memorial. Roosting birds at Oaks bottom, seen many times, always along the east side.
Saw whet owl. Calling birds at mp 6 on Larch Mountain road May 2005(tape responsive). Family of fledglings near mp4 on Larch mtn in 2008. Active birds at Tryon Ck, Feb 2002 (lifer, at last) and May 2008, (tape responsive). Roosting winter birds at Bybee lake (December 2003) and the Columbia Slough (November 2003).
Long-eared owl. Pair June 2003 the west end of Bybee Lake. Male with large flesh wound to the chest. Subsequent attempts to lure by tape unsuccessful.
Short-eared owl. The Columbia river from Broughton Beach to the 205 bridge. Up to 5 birds seen. Annually November to March. Also Skyline Blvd near Skyline Elementary, with John in March, 2002.
Northern pygmy owl. Singing May 2002 off of Rocky Point Rd. April 2003 singing by parking area of Newton Rd. May 2004 singing at Powell Butte. Heard at 3500' on Tanner Butte 2007. All other records around Larch Mtn (Palmer Mill), MP4, MP8, MP9 (clear-cut) and summit.
Great gray owl. winter of 2003 near Sandy River.
Spotted owl. June 2007, Larch mtn, heard only.
Barred owl, Audubon House (Forest Park) April 2002, in response to saw whet tape with John. Subsequently seen alongside the creek and in the reserve. Also seen and heard at Tryon Ck over several years. In 2007 heard at the entrance to Oxbow Lake county park in May. In 2008 seen at daytime with Tom at MP 10 of Larch Mtn.
A catalog of owling sightings from my home county-Multnomah, Oregon prior to 2011, when I took up owling in earnest. Much more on Multnomah's owls can be read at the 2011 owling, 2012 owling, 2013 owling and 2014 owling....
Barn Owl. Roosting birds in Sauvie barns, under the Max bridge near IKEA, Blue Lake (Cyprus trees). Active birds at Willow Bar and Oak Island road and Exit 17. Dead birds at Smith and Bybee and Exit 18. Roosting bird, pines east of NE 13th (Tricolored blackbird site).
Great horned owl. Above Bonneville Dam at 800' with John July 2009. Nesting at Sauvie (Oak Is, Sturgeon Lake, Oak Is Rd and 3 miles south of Rentenar Rd) and Bybee Lake. Active birds at Exit 18, south Oaks Bottom, Tryon Ck and the Metro property on Multnomah Channel (near Rocky Point). Columbia waste water treatment plant, by the sculptures, roosting in a Doug fir.
Western screech owl. Active birds at Oak Is Rd, Maywood Dr (spring 2009), Yukon (winter 2010) and in Woodstock (winter 2011). Also SW Portland park and at the Vietnam memorial. Roosting birds at Oaks bottom, seen many times, always along the east side.
Saw whet owl. Calling birds at mp 6 on Larch Mountain road May 2005(tape responsive). Family of fledglings near mp4 on Larch mtn in 2008. Active birds at Tryon Ck, Feb 2002 (lifer, at last) and May 2008, (tape responsive). Roosting winter birds at Bybee lake (December 2003) and the Columbia Slough (November 2003).
Long-eared owl. Pair June 2003 the west end of Bybee Lake. Male with large flesh wound to the chest. Subsequent attempts to lure by tape unsuccessful.
Short-eared owl. The Columbia river from Broughton Beach to the 205 bridge. Up to 5 birds seen. Annually November to March. Also Skyline Blvd near Skyline Elementary, with John in March, 2002.
Northern pygmy owl. Singing May 2002 off of Rocky Point Rd. April 2003 singing by parking area of Newton Rd. May 2004 singing at Powell Butte. Heard at 3500' on Tanner Butte 2007. All other records around Larch Mtn (Palmer Mill), MP4, MP8, MP9 (clear-cut) and summit.
Great gray owl. winter of 2003 near Sandy River.
Spotted owl. June 2007, Larch mtn, heard only.
Barred owl, Audubon House (Forest Park) April 2002, in response to saw whet tape with John. Subsequently seen alongside the creek and in the reserve. Also seen and heard at Tryon Ck over several years. In 2007 heard at the entrance to Oxbow Lake county park in May. In 2008 seen at daytime with Tom at MP 10 of Larch Mtn.
American owls
Intro
A catalog of owling sightings from the USA prior to 2011, when I took up owling in earnest.
Barn owl interstate 15 near Prescott.
Great horned owl. First bird at Walnut Canyon. Seen near black-capped gnatcatcher site with Tom.
Spotted owl seen after dark at Sheelite Canyon in May 2000. I returned to the Accord, and had only driven a half a mile when I was pulled over by the military police at Fort Huachuca. The fort is only open to visitors during daylight hours. Bones lunged at the officer, surprising both of us, and making a bad situation worse. Fortunately, I was allowed to leave to fort without a citation. (I had visited Sheelite twice before during the daylight hours and had search extensively for a day roosting bird, to no avail).
Heard at Beattie's with Tom. Also near Flagstaff roosting with Tom.
Barred owl, heard while camping with Tui in Maine. Seen with David near Dawson's Creek, BC.
Great gray owl. Yosemite with Tom in September 2000.
Western Screech first bird was a day roosting bird at the Patton's in June 1999. Also Page Springs fish hatchery in the winter of 2000. Heard about 30 miles south of Flagstaff when camping in Ponderosas.
Eastern screech owl. First bird, a red morph roosting at Key Largo. Also heard near Austin Texas when looking for golden-cheeked warblers.
Whiskered screech owl taped out below the camp site at Madera Canyon in 1998. Subsequently several seen in night drives in SE Arizona.
Flammulated Owl. First bird 10 miles west of Flagstaff.
Saw whet owl, heard at the north rim of the grand canyon September 1998.
Boreal Owl. After many attempts finally seen at Mount Rainier September 2003 at Paradise. By coincidence there was an Audubon group also looking for boreals. The leader, Ruth Sullivan, was quite hostile towards me and chastised me publicly for using tapes. I set off in the opposite direction and soon had a fly by long eared owl at dusk in response to playback. After about an hour and half of taping a heard a screech. Heart pounding I pursued the calling bird into a thicket of lodge pole pines. Another screech. Then unable to resist I turned on my flashlight and just fifteen feet away an angry little Boreal owl stared down at me. Amazing view, and probably my most wanted bird in the world at that time. I remember playing the radio on my boombox (that I was using to tape out the owls), on the walk out, in the hope of further irritating Ruth, but I did not run into her. Previously I had attempted to to find this bird at Broken Top in Oregon. Subsequently I have tried again at Broken Top, multiple times and an all night attempt along Skyline in the Blue Mountains..
Long-eared owl. Taped in bird (to Boreal Owl), Sunrise, Mount Rainer.
Short eared owl, several birds near Sage Grouse lek at Weiser, Idaho.
Northern Pygmy Owl. Seen and heard with Tom and Deb, Westfork at dusk. Double tooting "mountain" birds. Wintering bird at Beaver Creek. Seen in Colorado, N of Silverton.
Elf Owl, seen May 1998 in telephone pole nest site, by Madera Lodge. The previous night I had spent the entire night walking the canyon road hearing elf owls everywhere. Without a tape, I was never able to actually see one..
Burrowing owl. Near Casa Grande, Yuma (in city at night Jan 1998), and in 1998 near the mountain plover site (Casa Grande area) and Salton Sea in 1999.
Northern hawk owl. Sun Valley Idaho, twitched February 2004. Interview and photographed by a Sun Valley journalist.
Owls by state
California
Great-horned, California spotted, great-gray, Pygmy, burrowing
Colorado
Pygmy, Short-eared
Florida
Eastern screech
Texas
Barn (heard only), Great-horned (heard only), McCall's, Eastern screech (heard only), Sutton's screech, Elf
Oregon
Barn, great-horned, snowy, western screech, flammulated, barred, spotted, great-gray, northern hawk, pygmy, saw-whet, boreal, burrowing, long-eared and short-eared
Arizona
Barn, great-horned, western screech, whiskered screech, flammulated, spotted, pygmy (northern and mountain), elf, saw-whet, burrowing
Idaho
Great-horned, Northern hawk, Short-eared owl
Washington by county
Adams Barn and burrowing
Asotin
Benton burrowing
Chelan
Clallam
Clark great-horned
Cowlitz
Columbia
Douglas
Ferry
Franklin Barn, Great-horned, Saw whet
Garfield
Grant screech
Gray's harbor Snowy
Island short-eared and long-eared
Jefferson
King Barn, great-horned, snowy, Barred
Kititas great-horned
Kitsap
Klickitat
Lewis
Lincoln
Mason
Okanagan Great-horned
Pacific
Pend Oreille
Pierce Barn, Screech, Barred, Boreal, saw-whet Pygmy, Long-eared
San Juan
Skagit short-eared
Skamania Barn, pygmy
Snohomish Snowy, short-eared
Spokane barred, northern hawk
Stevens
Thurston-great-horned
Wahkiakuw-Barn, great-horned
WallaWalla Barn, great-horned, great-gray, saw-whet and long-eared
Whatcom
Whitman
Yakima. Fammulated, great-horned and long-eared
29 7.9.14
31 2.16.15
32 5.9.15
33 5.31.15
35 6.28.15
36 1.11.16
37 4/2/16
38 8/7/17
40 24/9/17
41 27/2018
Canada (all BC)
Barred, great-horned, boreal
A catalog of owling sightings from the USA prior to 2011, when I took up owling in earnest.
Barn owl interstate 15 near Prescott.
Great horned owl. First bird at Walnut Canyon. Seen near black-capped gnatcatcher site with Tom.
Spotted owl seen after dark at Sheelite Canyon in May 2000. I returned to the Accord, and had only driven a half a mile when I was pulled over by the military police at Fort Huachuca. The fort is only open to visitors during daylight hours. Bones lunged at the officer, surprising both of us, and making a bad situation worse. Fortunately, I was allowed to leave to fort without a citation. (I had visited Sheelite twice before during the daylight hours and had search extensively for a day roosting bird, to no avail).
Heard at Beattie's with Tom. Also near Flagstaff roosting with Tom.
Barred owl, heard while camping with Tui in Maine. Seen with David near Dawson's Creek, BC.
Great gray owl. Yosemite with Tom in September 2000.
Western Screech first bird was a day roosting bird at the Patton's in June 1999. Also Page Springs fish hatchery in the winter of 2000. Heard about 30 miles south of Flagstaff when camping in Ponderosas.
Eastern screech owl. First bird, a red morph roosting at Key Largo. Also heard near Austin Texas when looking for golden-cheeked warblers.
Whiskered screech owl taped out below the camp site at Madera Canyon in 1998. Subsequently several seen in night drives in SE Arizona.
Flammulated Owl. First bird 10 miles west of Flagstaff.
Saw whet owl, heard at the north rim of the grand canyon September 1998.
Boreal Owl. After many attempts finally seen at Mount Rainier September 2003 at Paradise. By coincidence there was an Audubon group also looking for boreals. The leader, Ruth Sullivan, was quite hostile towards me and chastised me publicly for using tapes. I set off in the opposite direction and soon had a fly by long eared owl at dusk in response to playback. After about an hour and half of taping a heard a screech. Heart pounding I pursued the calling bird into a thicket of lodge pole pines. Another screech. Then unable to resist I turned on my flashlight and just fifteen feet away an angry little Boreal owl stared down at me. Amazing view, and probably my most wanted bird in the world at that time. I remember playing the radio on my boombox (that I was using to tape out the owls), on the walk out, in the hope of further irritating Ruth, but I did not run into her. Previously I had attempted to to find this bird at Broken Top in Oregon. Subsequently I have tried again at Broken Top, multiple times and an all night attempt along Skyline in the Blue Mountains..
Long-eared owl. Taped in bird (to Boreal Owl), Sunrise, Mount Rainer.
Short eared owl, several birds near Sage Grouse lek at Weiser, Idaho.
Northern Pygmy Owl. Seen and heard with Tom and Deb, Westfork at dusk. Double tooting "mountain" birds. Wintering bird at Beaver Creek. Seen in Colorado, N of Silverton.
Elf Owl, seen May 1998 in telephone pole nest site, by Madera Lodge. The previous night I had spent the entire night walking the canyon road hearing elf owls everywhere. Without a tape, I was never able to actually see one..
Burrowing owl. Near Casa Grande, Yuma (in city at night Jan 1998), and in 1998 near the mountain plover site (Casa Grande area) and Salton Sea in 1999.
Northern hawk owl. Sun Valley Idaho, twitched February 2004. Interview and photographed by a Sun Valley journalist.
Owls by state
California
Great-horned, California spotted, great-gray, Pygmy, burrowing
Colorado
Pygmy, Short-eared
Florida
Eastern screech
Texas
Barn (heard only), Great-horned (heard only), McCall's, Eastern screech (heard only), Sutton's screech, Elf
Oregon
Barn, great-horned, snowy, western screech, flammulated, barred, spotted, great-gray, northern hawk, pygmy, saw-whet, boreal, burrowing, long-eared and short-eared
Arizona
Barn, great-horned, western screech, whiskered screech, flammulated, spotted, pygmy (northern and mountain), elf, saw-whet, burrowing
Idaho
Great-horned, Northern hawk, Short-eared owl
New Mexico
Great-horned (heard only)
Washington
Barn, Great-horned, snowy, flammulated, western screech, barred, great-gray, northern hawk, northern pygmy, boreal, saw-whet, burrowing, long-eared, short-eared
Washington
Barn, Great-horned, snowy, flammulated, western screech, barred, great-gray, northern hawk, northern pygmy, boreal, saw-whet, burrowing, long-eared, short-eared
Washington by county
Adams Barn and burrowing
Asotin
Benton burrowing
Chelan
Clallam
Clark great-horned
Cowlitz
Columbia
Douglas
Ferry
Franklin Barn, Great-horned, Saw whet
Garfield
Grant screech
Gray's harbor Snowy
Island short-eared and long-eared
Jefferson
King Barn, great-horned, snowy, Barred
Kititas great-horned
Kitsap
Klickitat
Lewis
Lincoln
Mason
Okanagan Great-horned
Pacific
Pend Oreille
Pierce Barn, Screech, Barred, Boreal, saw-whet Pygmy, Long-eared
San Juan
Skagit short-eared
Skamania Barn, pygmy
Snohomish Snowy, short-eared
Spokane barred, northern hawk
Stevens
Thurston-great-horned
Wahkiakuw-Barn, great-horned
WallaWalla Barn, great-horned, great-gray, saw-whet and long-eared
Whatcom
Whitman
Yakima. Fammulated, great-horned and long-eared
29 7.9.14
31 2.16.15
32 5.9.15
33 5.31.15
35 6.28.15
36 1.11.16
37 4/2/16
38 8/7/17
40 24/9/17
41 27/2018
Canada (all BC)
Barred, great-horned, boreal
Oregon owls
Intro
A catalog of owling sightings from my home state Oregon prior to 2011, when I took up owling in earnest. Much more on Oregon's owls can be read at the 2011 owling, 2012 owling, 2013 owling and 2014 owling....
Barn owl. Grand Ronde valley, summer. East of Dufor Gap road, roosting in an abandoned house. Just west of the Tillamook river, hunting at dusk in the winter of 2004. Seen twice at the abandoned quarry near Malheur HQ.
Snowy owl. South jetty of the Columbia river in winter.
Great horned owl. Grand Ronde valley, summer. The road to the south jetty of the Columbia with Tui. Zumwalt Prairie (roosting in a tree next to a farm) and (singing from a tall conifer after dusk) Wallawa Mtns with John (grouse trip), Blue Mtn with John (Boreal Owl trip). Deschutes state park, with Tui, mating. Dufur Gap road and camp ground. Malhuer HQ. Hart Mtn with Tomas.
Western screech owl. Rentenar road, winter roosting bird with Thomas. Sue and Tim's old property on Lost Lake road. Family on a telephone wire, River Rd, Clackamas County July 2001.
Flammulated owl, heard only in the Blue Mtns near John Day River, Upland Sandpiper site (with David, summer 2006), south of Lone Rock and near the Metolious River.
Short-eared owl. Above Malheur Lake and at Benson pond. Two miles south of Pendleton with David in the summer of 2006.
Long-eared owl. Locust Grove with David, December 2003. Near broken top labor day 2008, came in the Boreal Owl tape. Hart Mtn May 2007, one young in nest in a pine.
Burrowing owl. Hart mtn May 2007. Corvalis area one bird in arable field winter 2006.
Northern saw whet owl. Roosting bird seen with David at De Moss County Park, December 2003.
Northern Hawk owl. Bird twitched in Bend with David, February 2007.
Spotted owl. John, Stites and I were shown a nesting bird by Tom Snetsinger, about 30 miles east of Lincoln city in 2003.
Great grey owl. 20 miles west of La Grande with David, summer 2006. Possible bird at 5000' on the Hood-Clackamas border at Mount Hood.
Barred owl. First bird taped in at Mollalla County Park, June 2001. Deschutes State Park with David, December 2003.
Owls by County (Oregon)
Baker: barn, flammulated, screech, great horned, burrowing, northern pygmy, saw whet and long-eared
Benton: Barn, Great-horned, western screech, Spotted, Barred, pygmy, Saw-Whet and short-eared
Clatsop: barn, screech, snowy, great-horned, barred, pygmy, saw whet and short-eared
Clackamas: barn, western screech, great-horned, great-gray, barred owl, spotted owl, long-eared, short-eared, pygmy and northern saw-whet
Columbia: barn, western screech, great-horned owl, barred, pygmy, saw-whet and short-eared
Coos: Barn, screech, Great-horned, barred, Pygmy, saw-whet, burrowing and short-eared
Crook: Barn, Flammulated, screech, Great-horned, Great-gray, Barred, Pygmy, burrowing, saw-whet, long-eared and short-eared
Curry:Barn, Great-horned, screech, barred, long-eared, pygmy and saw-whet.
Deschutes: Barn, great-horned owl, flammulated, screech, great-gray, barred, long-eared owl, short-eared, hawk, pygmy, saw whet and boreal
Douglas: Barn, Great-horned, Flammulated, screech, Spotted, Barred, saw-whet and pygmy
Gilliam: Barn, flammulated, screech, Great-horned, pygmy, saw-whet, long-eared and Short-eared owl.
Grant: Barn, flammulated owl, screech, great-horned, Great-gray, pygmy and saw-whet
Harney: Barn, flammulated, western screech, great-horned, pygmy, burrowing, short-eared, long-eared, northern saw-whet
Hood River: barn owl, great-horned, western screech, barred, spotted, great-gray, northern pygmy, saw-whet, long-eared
Jackson: Barn, great-horned, Flammulated, Screech, Great gray, spotted, Barred, burrowing, pygmy, saw-whet & long-eared
Jefferson: Barn, great-horned, flammulated, screech, barred, saw-whet, pygmy and long-eared
Josephine: Barn, great-horned, flammulated, Western screech, barred, pygmy, saw-whet and long-eared
Klamath: barn, flammulated, western screech, great-horned, great-gray, barred, saw-whet, northern pygmy, short-eared and long-eared
Lake: Barn, Flammulated, Screech, great-horned, pygmy, burrowing, saw-whet, long-eared, short-eared
Linn: Barn, screech, great-horned, spotted, barred, saw-whet, pygmy, burrowing owl, short-eared owl
Lane: barn, great horned, snowy, screech, barred, spotted owl, pygmy, saw-whet, short-eared, long-eared
Lincoln: barn, screech, great-horned, spotted, barred, pygmy and burrowing owl, saw-whet
Malhuer: Barn, flammulated, screech, great-horned, burrowing, saw-whet, pygmy and long-eared
Marion: barn, screech, great-horned, barred, great-gray, saw-whet, northern pygmy, long-eared and short-eared
Morrow: barn owl, flammulated, screech, great-horned, great-gray, pygmy, burrowing owl, saw-whet short-eared and long-eared
Multnomah: Barn, screech, great-horned, snowy, pygmy, spotted, barred, great-gray, burrowing, long-eared, short-eared, saw-whet
Polk: Barn, screech, Great-horned, spotted, barred, saw-whet, burrowing, pygmy and short-eared
Sherman: barn, screech, great-horned, barred, long-eared, saw whet
Tillamook: barn, screech, great-horned, spotted, barred, pygmy, saw-whet and short-eared
Umatilla: barn, flammulated, screech, great-horned, great-gray, saw-whet, burrowing, pygmy and short-eared
Union: barn, flammulated, screech, great-horned, great-gray, barred, northern pygmy and saw whet
Wallowa: barn, flammulated, great-horned, screech, northern pygmy, saw-whet and short-eared
Wasco: barn, great horned, screech, flammulated, spotted, barred, northern pygmy, saw whet and long-eared and short-eared
Washington: barn, great-horned, screech, barred, long-eared, short-eared, northern pygmy and saw-whet
Wheeler: Barn, flammulated, screech, great-horned, pygmy, saw-whet and long-eared
Yamhill: Barn, Great-horned, Screech, barred, Saw-whet, pygmy and short-eared
70 6.16.2013
71 7.8.2013
75 9.1.13
79 3.8.14
80 3.25.14
81 4.5.14
82 4.7.14
84 6.14.14
87 7.9.14
88 7.10.14
89 8.3.14
90 8.16.14
93 8.23.14
96 10.4.14
100 10.13.14
101 10.18.14
101 12.6.14
102 12.13.14
103 12.27.14
104 1.3.15
107 1.24.15
109 1.31.15
110 3.21.15
112 3.22.15
115 3.29.15
116 4.26.15
120 5.2.15
121 5.25.15
122 6.6.15
123 6.14.15
124 7.18.15
128 8.2.15
131 8.8.15
134 8.16.15
136 8.22.15
137 10.24.2015
138 11.1.15
145 11.7.15
146 11.7.15 (correction)
147 11/11/15 (correction)
149 11.15.15
150 11.22.15
151 11/29/15
153 1/4/16
154 1/16/16
155 1/25/16
156 1/30/16
157 2/8/16
160 2/16/16
161 2/21/16
164 2/29/16
168 4/10/16
169 4/24/16
170 5/7/16
173 5/22/16
174 5/30/16
175 6/12/16
177 8/9/16
178 8/29/16
180 9/5/16
181 12/18/16
182 4/2/17
183 4/23/17
185 5/7/17
187 6/27/17
188 7/11/17
189 7/24/17
190 10/30/17
194 12/17/17
197 1/13/18
202 3/5/18
203 3/31/2018
208 6/10/2018
212 6/25/18
213 7/2/18
214 12/8/18
218 1/12/19
219 3/16/19
223 4/28/19
226 5/4/19
232 5/26/19
238 9/2/19
239 11/9/19
242 1/5/20
243 3/9/20
245 3/14/20
248 4/11/20
253 4/25/20
257 5/17/20
261 5/25/20
262 12/20/20
263 1/8/21
264 2/6/21
265 2/13/21
266 4/25/21
268 5/9/21
272 5/17/21
273 5/29/21
278 6/5/21
282 7/3/21
283 8/21/21
284 9/18/21
285 10/30/21
286 12/18/21
287 1/16/22
288 4/9/22
289 4/29/22
290 5/14/22
292 5/21/22
293 5/27/22
295 6/17/22
297 9/17/22
11/25/22 Correction 300
4/16/23 301
8/25/23 302
10/7/23 303
10/15/23 304
11/5/23 306 (update and correction)
3/28/24 308
6/1/24 310
6/30/24 311
10/12/24 312
2009 and 2010 owling
Intro
These were my wilderness years bird wise. In 2009 I got divorced and my interest in birds lapsed. By 2011 I had decided to take up world owling in earnest. In between.....
11.10 pair of great horned heard, then seen mating at Deschutes SP
These were my wilderness years bird wise. In 2009 I got divorced and my interest in birds lapsed. By 2011 I had decided to take up world owling in earnest. In between.....
11.10 pair of great horned heard, then seen mating at Deschutes SP
9.10 great horned calling and seen in the twilight at White River
8.10 Barn owl seen west of Dufur. Flushed from an abandoned house in daylight. Landed in a wheat field.
7.29.10 barred owl heard w Tui while camping in Maine
6.10 Western screech heard at the Snake river.
5.10 Western screech seen along Maywood drive with Tui after dark.
4.10 Great-horned owl seen on Dufur Gap Rd with Tui. Mobbed by Lewis's woodpeckers at midday.
12.9 Barred owl seen at Tacoma zoo, when looking at Christmas lights.
8.9 Barn owl seen and heard with Tui after dark near Willow Bar, Sauvie Is.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
2011 Peru Trip Report
Intro
Just months after both my first son, Charlie was born and after I decided to begin my world owling endeavor, I traveled to Peru. I chose Peru because it was a cheap country with huge number of owls, because I had seen hardly any of these owls during my last trip and because it was home to the long-whiskered owlet, a mythical creature.
September 26th I arrived in Lima just before midnight. Too tired to get a room so I slept on the floor of the airport with some weary Peruvian travelers.
September 27th. I caught an 11am Star Peru flight to Tarapoto and then bused to Moyobamba, and finally took a moto taxi to Quebrada Mishquiyacu Reserve. I waited for dusk, then hiked up the ridge trail. At the third zig-zag I had a Rio Napo (aka Vermiculated) screech-owl respond to a rufescent screech-owl recording. I taped it out using a Rio Napo recording and got great views of the bird perched in the low understory. I subsequently heard a second Rio Napo screech-owl high on the ridge. In the open white sand scrub on the ridge I heard a band-bellied owl. I spotlighted the far trees and found the owl, perched in a tree. When I played the tape, the owl flew in and circled overhead. It did this twice, allowing good views. The bird remained silent when on the wing. I also saw what was probably a band-bellied owl down by the creek crossing, however this bird was silent and seen only in silhouette.
September 28th. Jose Altamirano Guerrero, (joseoag@gmail.com), the owner of Quebrada Mishquiyacu reserve and I cruised around Moyobamba on his motor cycle in search of owls. We spent three hours doing this. We taped out a tropical screech owl in a city park. We had given up on striped owl, and were heading home, when we had brief views of one flying overhead. The distinctive carpal mark on the underwing was seen well. I spent a few hours looking for rufescent screech owls later that night but to no avail.
September 29th. I bused from Moyobamba to La Esperanza, a small roadside village, west of Abra Patricia. I asked around in the village, and was soon shown the Neotropical Primate Conservation building where I met my guide, Eddy. (To organize a trip contact Noga, at nogashanee@gmail.com). Eddy and I hiked for two hours to a house on a ridge top. That night we went out to a ridge trail. We heard a singing Cinnamon screech owl. After a couple of minutes taping, I was soon enjoying amazing views of this beautiful little owl. We had climbed a little further, then it started to rain. We waited under a tree for a couple of hours, then set off again up the ridge. We got no response to our tape of long whiskered owlet. Eddy suggested that we try at 3am. Back at the house on the ridge, we heard a distant owlet. We scrambled across the valley into some really tough terrain-recently felled trees, vines on a very steep slope. We heard the owlet close by, but made so much noise trying to approach the forest that it stopped calling. We gave up at midnight and returned to the house. I set my alarm for 3am.
When I got up at 3am I didn't have the heart to awaken Eddy. I hiked back out to the ridge trail and taped for the owlet. Soon I got a response. The owlet came quite close, but I was not able to spotlight it. Dawn was fast approaching and the terrain made it very difficult to get near the bird. Eventually it stopped calling. As I left the forest I heard rufous-banded owl.
September 30th. Eddy and I hike late in the afternoon out to the ridge trail, we then walked down the ridge to a valley and a clearing where a new farm was being established at the edge of the forest. We crossed a stream, and hiked up to a building, then across another clearing. We then climbed very steeply through the forest. Where the path leveled out, near a small overhanging rock, we rested and waited for nightfall. Then we started started taping. We soon had a response from the owlet, high above us on the hill. We taped and waited for a long time. Eventually we climbed up the hill, but the terrain was nearly impossible. For a while we lost Eddy's machete in a tangle of fallen logs and bamboo. Eventually we gave up the climb and return to the trail. The owlet continued to haunt us with its repetitive call. So we moved along the trail and taped again. And again. Slowly over a couple of hours the owlet descended. Once near us, we stalked it and searched with the flashlight, three attempts and an hour later, we finally got excellent views of the owlet perched quite low. Wow, what a freakish little devil bird! We hike back to the house by an alternate route, and for a while were quite lost. I was exhausted. Eventually we made it back a little after 12am.
October 1st. Eddy and I set out for the ridge trail. This is a magical place at dusk, under a violet sky, the wet cow pasture was bathed in yellow light. Once we hit the ridge trail, we descended. I played tapes for rufescent screech owl. After about a mile I got a response. We were quite excited, until we realized that we had cinnamon screech, responding to a the recording of a rufescent. Further down the trail, we had a rufescent respond. It took a lot of taping to secure a view of the bird, fairly high in the canopy. I suggested to Eddy that we climb back up the ridge trail, to look for white-throated screech-owl. He looked tired, but agreed. We heard no white-throateds and soon we were returned to the house on the ridge by a different route. It was midnight and we were both tired, so we went to bed.
October 2nd. We awoke fairly early and set off, back to the village of La Esperanza. Soon it started to rain really heavily and the walk back was very muddy and not much fun. At the village I met up with Sam, the husband of Noga, both of the Neotropical Primate Association. Sam was very kind to me, he made me coffee and let me use his hot shower. I ate lunch in the village, and then took a taxi back up the highway to the top of Abra Patricia.
I spent the whole afternoon walking the owlet trail at the Ecoan property, and walking the main road to the east of the pass. I taped extensively for Andean Pygmy-owl, but got no response. At dusk I did get views of rufous-banded owl about 2km east of the pass.
I ate dinner at the little restaurant just west of the pass then explored the trail opposite the gate to the Ecoan property. The trail looked promising, but soon led me into pastures. I gave up and entered to Ecoan property and explored the Grallaria trail. I attracted another rufous-banded owl with my white-throated tapes. Then, about 100m down the Mono trail, I got a response from white-throated screech owl. A minute later, I got really lovely views of a pair of these fantastic owls.
October 3rd. I started the day walking a long way east on the main road and taping for Andean Pygmy owl. 6km down the road I got a good response, but I was never able to locate the bird, despite several minutes of prolonged singing. (This was incredibly frustrating for me because I have looked for this bird many times on earlier trips without success). The day went downhill from there. Heavy rain in the middle of the day. I then went back to Ecoan, and tried the Grallaria trail and the canopy tower, but to no avail. At dusk I took a share taxi to Pedro Ruiz. I changed share taxis at Pedro Ruiz and went onto Chachapoyas. I saw a barn owl fly in front of the car about 5km before Chachapoyas. I arrived there about 10pm.
October 4th The day didn't start well. Torrential rain awoke me at 4am, and by 6am, the streets of Chachpoyas were calf deep in fast flowing brown water. I took a minibus south and got off at a roadside hotel, called El Chilo. The hotel staff know about a pair of roosting Koepck's screech owls. I arrived in the morning, and despite a lot of help from the hotel's owner could not locate the owls. I expanded my search, and was working my way through the scrub above the hotel, when one of the employees located the two owls, in their original tree. I enjoyed long looks at the pair high in a eucalyptus tree across the road from the front gate of the hotel.
I picked up another minibus and headed south to Leimebamba.
At Leimebamba, I decided to abandon a trip to the pass that afternoon, because the mountains were enveloped in black clouds. I spent the afternoon birding the scrub above town looking for Yungas Pygmy owls. Unsuccessful, I returned to town and settled into my room in a small hotel on the plaza.
October 5th I got up before down, and set about locating a taxi to take me up to Abra Barro Negro. I got dropped off there a couple of kilometers before the pass. Setting out up the road, I birded slowly, stopping at any scrubby patches. The air was quite thin, so I walked slowly. Four kilometers on the Balsas side of the pass, a Yungas pygmy-owl responded to my taping. The bird was aggressive, and soon I was face to face with this yellow-eyed, feisty little owl.
Despite the lack of traffic, I soon got a ride with a friendly truck driver, who ran me back into Leimebamba. It was a long wait, till I got the next bus to Chachapoyas. I called Aldo, the owner of ACP San Antonio and arranged for him to pick me early the next morning. (Aldo Muñoz Saavedra, Movil: 1-975025954, www.acpsanantonio.org.pe, Km.491.5-Carretera Chachapoyas_Leymebamba). I then settled in to a small hotel room for the night.
October 6th I met the owner of the reserve in Chachapoyas and he drove me to APC San Antonio. (Which is accessible by public transport. It is about 1-2 km south of the 3-way intersection of the Chachapoyas/Pedro Ruiz, Leimebamba road). It's a gated dirt road, running east, up the hill.
ACP San Antonio is a small reserve of scrubby hillside forest. I spent the day loafing around and eating. At dusk, we heard a Koepck's, but was intent on finding buff-fronted owls, so paid it little mind. Initially the owner, Maria (the cook) and a maintenance guy went out with me. The group was curious about owling. Alas we didn't see anything. By 10pm, it was raining and the group gave up. I settled into my tent and set my alarm for midnight. At midnight it was still raining, so I set may alarm for one by which time the skies had cleared. I walked down the road from the old hacienda, where I had camped. At the first crossing of the (dry) creek, I got a response to my playback. A buff-fronted called several times, but didn't approach me. I walked a few meters up the stream bed and shone my flashlight. Amazing there it was. My most wanted owl, 20 yards away! I held the beam on the owl and walked up to a few inches from the owl. What an absolutely beautiful bird! I was thrilled. I spent the rest of the night in my tent, sleepless and feeling immensely lucky.
October 7th. Aldo drove me back up to Chachapoyas early the next morning. I took a bus to the Jaen turn off, and then a taxi into Jaen. At Jaen, I found a moto taxi to take me to Gotas de Agua. (The turn off for Gotas, is near the south entrance of Jaen, near where the towns street splits into two one way roads. Go east for a kilometer or so, then south for 5 km. It's not particularly easy to find, so ask around). I ended up walking around the reserve buildings for quite some time before I found the caretaker. He prepared my room and made me a basic meal of beef and bread. At dusk, I played the tape for Peruvian screech-owl by the reserve buildings, and immediately two birds flew over head. Soon I was enjoying excellent views of these terrific screech owls. I later located a third bird a few hundred yards away, and heard a barn owl in the fields.
October 8th. I started at 4am, and set out walking back into Jaen. I was barked at by innumerable dogs, which made for a tedious walk. In town I waited at the share taxi rank for an hour, before departing for Tabaconas. It was a long ride up to town. Once there I bought supplies, then walked back down the road. Every 100m I played a tape for Andean Pygmy Owl. 26km later, sun burnt and very dehydrated, I gave up. There were 11 people in the Toyota Corolla which took me back to Jaen! At Jaen I waited a long time for a bus to Chiclayo. The journey was hot and long. I awoke as the bus entered Chiclayo and saw a burrowing owl perched on a street sign. Nice.
October 9th. I found a bus for Chongoyape, and got dropped off just outside of the Chaparri Reserve (http://www.chaparri.org/en) around 7am. At the head quarters I asked about striped owls and was told they would be at the lodge. A moto taxi was arranged, and soon I was on my way along the long stony ride up to the lodge. At the lodge I was shown to a very nice room. I spoke with a couple of guides who didn't seem to know about striped owls. Heinz Plenge, the reserve director, suggested that the owls were more likely to be seen at the entrance to the reserve. Ahhh! So I ate lunch, paid for the room. I did see a spectacled beer and two cubs, which was very nice! Then I walked back down the now really hot stony road. At the gate, I looked for a guide or ranger, but just found a couple of kids. I spent the rest of the day waiting for it to get dark. After dark, I played tapes and listened for striped owl in the scrub and dry fields near the gate. I did run into two Tumbesian screech-owls and heard a barn owl. But no striped owls. What a disappointment! The western birds area potential different species from the eastern birds that I had seen in Moyobamba, and are quite range restricted. Tired, I gave up early around 1030pm and slept until 7am.
October 10th I walked back to the main road, and bused into Chiclayo. I had to wait for 10 hours for the next Lima bound bus. The journey to Lima was uneventful, apart from the relative comfort of the bus.
October 11th. I arrived in Lima around 8am. I found I had another long wait, until 330pm, for the next bus to Abancay. During the middle of the night, as we crossed the Andes I was struck with a powerful fever and bouts diarrhea. To my shame and embarrassment the bus was stopped and the driver explained (in front of all the other passengers) to stop shitting in the toilet. It's for pissing only! A cocktail of Advil, Imodium and Cipro had me feeling pretty good by the time I arrived in Abancay at 8am.
October 12th I booked myself into a bargain room, bought some groceries and then set off for a long walk down to the river, then up the other side. By dusk I had covered 30km. I was sun burnt and thirsty. And and not seen an Apurimac`pygmy-owl. At dusk I heard a pygmy owl, and I was able to get it to respond to my whistled imitations of its call. However the bird would not approach me. I tried to pursue it up a steep slope, but was rewarded with a lot of cactus thorns and no pygmy owl. Fortunately ten minutes later, I was able to lure out and get good views of an Apurimac screech-owl. A kilometer down the road I heard a second Apurimac screech-owl. I was picked up by some friendly Quechua-speaking truckers, who gave me a ride all the way to Abancay for free. Very nice. There I ate a wonderful meal and felt like my luck was restored.
October 13th. I got up early at 4am and walked out of town. I caught a ride with a share taxi to run me down to the river. I got off by a couple of businesses selling sugar cane. There I took the small road that runs parallel to the river and past a small quarry. At the far end of the quarry, at first light I heard two pygmy owls. By imitating the calls, I got the pygmy-owls to come in close for great views. Excellent, the long journey to Abancay, was well worth it. I took a taxi back into town. There I discovered that it would be a long wait to the next bus, at 2pm. The views from the bus on the high Altiplano were spectacular. The descent from the Andes was pretty scary, the driver had the wheels of the bus squealing at every corner, and I managed to convince myself that we were sure to crash. I was wrong, and we made it safely back to Lima by 4am.
October 14th I felt a little nervous about navigating Lima in the dark. Non the less I set out on foot, armed with my Lonely Planet guidebook. I looked like total tourist! Fortunately I didn't encounter any muggers. I found a bus to Chosica, and then share taxied to Santa Eulalia. From there I took a bus out to the hydro plant at Huico, about 15km further up the road. I spent the rest of the day washing in the cold river and sleeping in the corner of a small soccer field. At dusk I set out looking for Magellan owl. I asked the guards at the hydro station, but they were unfamiliar with the owl. I then found a lady from the village walking with her children. She asked me where I was going, and when I explained about the Magellan. She enthusiastically explained that they fly around the eucalyptus trees every night. Sure enough a couple of minutes later a Magellan flew overhead. I got a decent view of its underparts, which were well lit by a street light. However I could not get it to respond to my tape. I hiked a short distance up the road and camped. My sleep was disturbed by calling barn owls.
October 15th. I walked back to Santa Eulalia. I was eager to find Peruvian Pygmy owl, which would have been my 20th owl of the trip. However it was not to be. I spent most of the day in the airport at Lima, before leaving Peru just before midnight. What an amazing trip.
Just months after both my first son, Charlie was born and after I decided to begin my world owling endeavor, I traveled to Peru. I chose Peru because it was a cheap country with huge number of owls, because I had seen hardly any of these owls during my last trip and because it was home to the long-whiskered owlet, a mythical creature.
September 26th I arrived in Lima just before midnight. Too tired to get a room so I slept on the floor of the airport with some weary Peruvian travelers.
September 27th. I caught an 11am Star Peru flight to Tarapoto and then bused to Moyobamba, and finally took a moto taxi to Quebrada Mishquiyacu Reserve. I waited for dusk, then hiked up the ridge trail. At the third zig-zag I had a Rio Napo (aka Vermiculated) screech-owl respond to a rufescent screech-owl recording. I taped it out using a Rio Napo recording and got great views of the bird perched in the low understory. I subsequently heard a second Rio Napo screech-owl high on the ridge. In the open white sand scrub on the ridge I heard a band-bellied owl. I spotlighted the far trees and found the owl, perched in a tree. When I played the tape, the owl flew in and circled overhead. It did this twice, allowing good views. The bird remained silent when on the wing. I also saw what was probably a band-bellied owl down by the creek crossing, however this bird was silent and seen only in silhouette.
September 28th. Jose Altamirano Guerrero, (joseoag@gmail.com), the owner of Quebrada Mishquiyacu reserve and I cruised around Moyobamba on his motor cycle in search of owls. We spent three hours doing this. We taped out a tropical screech owl in a city park. We had given up on striped owl, and were heading home, when we had brief views of one flying overhead. The distinctive carpal mark on the underwing was seen well. I spent a few hours looking for rufescent screech owls later that night but to no avail.
September 29th. I bused from Moyobamba to La Esperanza, a small roadside village, west of Abra Patricia. I asked around in the village, and was soon shown the Neotropical Primate Conservation building where I met my guide, Eddy. (To organize a trip contact Noga, at nogashanee@gmail.com). Eddy and I hiked for two hours to a house on a ridge top. That night we went out to a ridge trail. We heard a singing Cinnamon screech owl. After a couple of minutes taping, I was soon enjoying amazing views of this beautiful little owl. We had climbed a little further, then it started to rain. We waited under a tree for a couple of hours, then set off again up the ridge. We got no response to our tape of long whiskered owlet. Eddy suggested that we try at 3am. Back at the house on the ridge, we heard a distant owlet. We scrambled across the valley into some really tough terrain-recently felled trees, vines on a very steep slope. We heard the owlet close by, but made so much noise trying to approach the forest that it stopped calling. We gave up at midnight and returned to the house. I set my alarm for 3am.
When I got up at 3am I didn't have the heart to awaken Eddy. I hiked back out to the ridge trail and taped for the owlet. Soon I got a response. The owlet came quite close, but I was not able to spotlight it. Dawn was fast approaching and the terrain made it very difficult to get near the bird. Eventually it stopped calling. As I left the forest I heard rufous-banded owl.
September 30th. Eddy and I hike late in the afternoon out to the ridge trail, we then walked down the ridge to a valley and a clearing where a new farm was being established at the edge of the forest. We crossed a stream, and hiked up to a building, then across another clearing. We then climbed very steeply through the forest. Where the path leveled out, near a small overhanging rock, we rested and waited for nightfall. Then we started started taping. We soon had a response from the owlet, high above us on the hill. We taped and waited for a long time. Eventually we climbed up the hill, but the terrain was nearly impossible. For a while we lost Eddy's machete in a tangle of fallen logs and bamboo. Eventually we gave up the climb and return to the trail. The owlet continued to haunt us with its repetitive call. So we moved along the trail and taped again. And again. Slowly over a couple of hours the owlet descended. Once near us, we stalked it and searched with the flashlight, three attempts and an hour later, we finally got excellent views of the owlet perched quite low. Wow, what a freakish little devil bird! We hike back to the house by an alternate route, and for a while were quite lost. I was exhausted. Eventually we made it back a little after 12am.
October 1st. Eddy and I set out for the ridge trail. This is a magical place at dusk, under a violet sky, the wet cow pasture was bathed in yellow light. Once we hit the ridge trail, we descended. I played tapes for rufescent screech owl. After about a mile I got a response. We were quite excited, until we realized that we had cinnamon screech, responding to a the recording of a rufescent. Further down the trail, we had a rufescent respond. It took a lot of taping to secure a view of the bird, fairly high in the canopy. I suggested to Eddy that we climb back up the ridge trail, to look for white-throated screech-owl. He looked tired, but agreed. We heard no white-throateds and soon we were returned to the house on the ridge by a different route. It was midnight and we were both tired, so we went to bed.
October 2nd. We awoke fairly early and set off, back to the village of La Esperanza. Soon it started to rain really heavily and the walk back was very muddy and not much fun. At the village I met up with Sam, the husband of Noga, both of the Neotropical Primate Association. Sam was very kind to me, he made me coffee and let me use his hot shower. I ate lunch in the village, and then took a taxi back up the highway to the top of Abra Patricia.
I spent the whole afternoon walking the owlet trail at the Ecoan property, and walking the main road to the east of the pass. I taped extensively for Andean Pygmy-owl, but got no response. At dusk I did get views of rufous-banded owl about 2km east of the pass.
I ate dinner at the little restaurant just west of the pass then explored the trail opposite the gate to the Ecoan property. The trail looked promising, but soon led me into pastures. I gave up and entered to Ecoan property and explored the Grallaria trail. I attracted another rufous-banded owl with my white-throated tapes. Then, about 100m down the Mono trail, I got a response from white-throated screech owl. A minute later, I got really lovely views of a pair of these fantastic owls.
October 3rd. I started the day walking a long way east on the main road and taping for Andean Pygmy owl. 6km down the road I got a good response, but I was never able to locate the bird, despite several minutes of prolonged singing. (This was incredibly frustrating for me because I have looked for this bird many times on earlier trips without success). The day went downhill from there. Heavy rain in the middle of the day. I then went back to Ecoan, and tried the Grallaria trail and the canopy tower, but to no avail. At dusk I took a share taxi to Pedro Ruiz. I changed share taxis at Pedro Ruiz and went onto Chachapoyas. I saw a barn owl fly in front of the car about 5km before Chachapoyas. I arrived there about 10pm.
October 4th The day didn't start well. Torrential rain awoke me at 4am, and by 6am, the streets of Chachpoyas were calf deep in fast flowing brown water. I took a minibus south and got off at a roadside hotel, called El Chilo. The hotel staff know about a pair of roosting Koepck's screech owls. I arrived in the morning, and despite a lot of help from the hotel's owner could not locate the owls. I expanded my search, and was working my way through the scrub above the hotel, when one of the employees located the two owls, in their original tree. I enjoyed long looks at the pair high in a eucalyptus tree across the road from the front gate of the hotel.
I picked up another minibus and headed south to Leimebamba.
At Leimebamba, I decided to abandon a trip to the pass that afternoon, because the mountains were enveloped in black clouds. I spent the afternoon birding the scrub above town looking for Yungas Pygmy owls. Unsuccessful, I returned to town and settled into my room in a small hotel on the plaza.
October 5th I got up before down, and set about locating a taxi to take me up to Abra Barro Negro. I got dropped off there a couple of kilometers before the pass. Setting out up the road, I birded slowly, stopping at any scrubby patches. The air was quite thin, so I walked slowly. Four kilometers on the Balsas side of the pass, a Yungas pygmy-owl responded to my taping. The bird was aggressive, and soon I was face to face with this yellow-eyed, feisty little owl.
Despite the lack of traffic, I soon got a ride with a friendly truck driver, who ran me back into Leimebamba. It was a long wait, till I got the next bus to Chachapoyas. I called Aldo, the owner of ACP San Antonio and arranged for him to pick me early the next morning. (Aldo Muñoz Saavedra, Movil: 1-975025954, www.acpsanantonio.org.pe, Km.491.5-Carretera Chachapoyas_Leymebamba). I then settled in to a small hotel room for the night.
October 6th I met the owner of the reserve in Chachapoyas and he drove me to APC San Antonio. (Which is accessible by public transport. It is about 1-2 km south of the 3-way intersection of the Chachapoyas/Pedro Ruiz, Leimebamba road). It's a gated dirt road, running east, up the hill.
ACP San Antonio is a small reserve of scrubby hillside forest. I spent the day loafing around and eating. At dusk, we heard a Koepck's, but was intent on finding buff-fronted owls, so paid it little mind. Initially the owner, Maria (the cook) and a maintenance guy went out with me. The group was curious about owling. Alas we didn't see anything. By 10pm, it was raining and the group gave up. I settled into my tent and set my alarm for midnight. At midnight it was still raining, so I set may alarm for one by which time the skies had cleared. I walked down the road from the old hacienda, where I had camped. At the first crossing of the (dry) creek, I got a response to my playback. A buff-fronted called several times, but didn't approach me. I walked a few meters up the stream bed and shone my flashlight. Amazing there it was. My most wanted owl, 20 yards away! I held the beam on the owl and walked up to a few inches from the owl. What an absolutely beautiful bird! I was thrilled. I spent the rest of the night in my tent, sleepless and feeling immensely lucky.
October 7th. Aldo drove me back up to Chachapoyas early the next morning. I took a bus to the Jaen turn off, and then a taxi into Jaen. At Jaen, I found a moto taxi to take me to Gotas de Agua. (The turn off for Gotas, is near the south entrance of Jaen, near where the towns street splits into two one way roads. Go east for a kilometer or so, then south for 5 km. It's not particularly easy to find, so ask around). I ended up walking around the reserve buildings for quite some time before I found the caretaker. He prepared my room and made me a basic meal of beef and bread. At dusk, I played the tape for Peruvian screech-owl by the reserve buildings, and immediately two birds flew over head. Soon I was enjoying excellent views of these terrific screech owls. I later located a third bird a few hundred yards away, and heard a barn owl in the fields.
October 8th. I started at 4am, and set out walking back into Jaen. I was barked at by innumerable dogs, which made for a tedious walk. In town I waited at the share taxi rank for an hour, before departing for Tabaconas. It was a long ride up to town. Once there I bought supplies, then walked back down the road. Every 100m I played a tape for Andean Pygmy Owl. 26km later, sun burnt and very dehydrated, I gave up. There were 11 people in the Toyota Corolla which took me back to Jaen! At Jaen I waited a long time for a bus to Chiclayo. The journey was hot and long. I awoke as the bus entered Chiclayo and saw a burrowing owl perched on a street sign. Nice.
October 9th. I found a bus for Chongoyape, and got dropped off just outside of the Chaparri Reserve (http://www.chaparri.org/en) around 7am. At the head quarters I asked about striped owls and was told they would be at the lodge. A moto taxi was arranged, and soon I was on my way along the long stony ride up to the lodge. At the lodge I was shown to a very nice room. I spoke with a couple of guides who didn't seem to know about striped owls. Heinz Plenge, the reserve director, suggested that the owls were more likely to be seen at the entrance to the reserve. Ahhh! So I ate lunch, paid for the room. I did see a spectacled beer and two cubs, which was very nice! Then I walked back down the now really hot stony road. At the gate, I looked for a guide or ranger, but just found a couple of kids. I spent the rest of the day waiting for it to get dark. After dark, I played tapes and listened for striped owl in the scrub and dry fields near the gate. I did run into two Tumbesian screech-owls and heard a barn owl. But no striped owls. What a disappointment! The western birds area potential different species from the eastern birds that I had seen in Moyobamba, and are quite range restricted. Tired, I gave up early around 1030pm and slept until 7am.
October 10th I walked back to the main road, and bused into Chiclayo. I had to wait for 10 hours for the next Lima bound bus. The journey to Lima was uneventful, apart from the relative comfort of the bus.
October 11th. I arrived in Lima around 8am. I found I had another long wait, until 330pm, for the next bus to Abancay. During the middle of the night, as we crossed the Andes I was struck with a powerful fever and bouts diarrhea. To my shame and embarrassment the bus was stopped and the driver explained (in front of all the other passengers) to stop shitting in the toilet. It's for pissing only! A cocktail of Advil, Imodium and Cipro had me feeling pretty good by the time I arrived in Abancay at 8am.
October 12th I booked myself into a bargain room, bought some groceries and then set off for a long walk down to the river, then up the other side. By dusk I had covered 30km. I was sun burnt and thirsty. And and not seen an Apurimac`pygmy-owl. At dusk I heard a pygmy owl, and I was able to get it to respond to my whistled imitations of its call. However the bird would not approach me. I tried to pursue it up a steep slope, but was rewarded with a lot of cactus thorns and no pygmy owl. Fortunately ten minutes later, I was able to lure out and get good views of an Apurimac screech-owl. A kilometer down the road I heard a second Apurimac screech-owl. I was picked up by some friendly Quechua-speaking truckers, who gave me a ride all the way to Abancay for free. Very nice. There I ate a wonderful meal and felt like my luck was restored.
October 13th. I got up early at 4am and walked out of town. I caught a ride with a share taxi to run me down to the river. I got off by a couple of businesses selling sugar cane. There I took the small road that runs parallel to the river and past a small quarry. At the far end of the quarry, at first light I heard two pygmy owls. By imitating the calls, I got the pygmy-owls to come in close for great views. Excellent, the long journey to Abancay, was well worth it. I took a taxi back into town. There I discovered that it would be a long wait to the next bus, at 2pm. The views from the bus on the high Altiplano were spectacular. The descent from the Andes was pretty scary, the driver had the wheels of the bus squealing at every corner, and I managed to convince myself that we were sure to crash. I was wrong, and we made it safely back to Lima by 4am.
October 14th I felt a little nervous about navigating Lima in the dark. Non the less I set out on foot, armed with my Lonely Planet guidebook. I looked like total tourist! Fortunately I didn't encounter any muggers. I found a bus to Chosica, and then share taxied to Santa Eulalia. From there I took a bus out to the hydro plant at Huico, about 15km further up the road. I spent the rest of the day washing in the cold river and sleeping in the corner of a small soccer field. At dusk I set out looking for Magellan owl. I asked the guards at the hydro station, but they were unfamiliar with the owl. I then found a lady from the village walking with her children. She asked me where I was going, and when I explained about the Magellan. She enthusiastically explained that they fly around the eucalyptus trees every night. Sure enough a couple of minutes later a Magellan flew overhead. I got a decent view of its underparts, which were well lit by a street light. However I could not get it to respond to my tape. I hiked a short distance up the road and camped. My sleep was disturbed by calling barn owls.
October 15th. I walked back to Santa Eulalia. I was eager to find Peruvian Pygmy owl, which would have been my 20th owl of the trip. However it was not to be. I spent most of the day in the airport at Lima, before leaving Peru just before midnight. What an amazing trip.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
owl taxonomy and conservation
Splits beyond Konig:
New Guinea masked-owl Tyto calabayi from Australian masked-owl
Madeira barn owl Tyto schmitzi from common barn owl
Slender-billed barn owl Tyto gracilirostris from common barn owl
Tyto javica from common barn owl
Colombian barn owl Tyto contempta from American barn owl
Bonaire barn owl from American barn owl
Tyto cayeui from lesser masked owl
"Somaliland scops" from African scops
Annobon Is Scops Otus faea from African scops
Principe scops
Cyprus scops Otus cyprius from Common scops
Rinjani scops Otus julandae
Chinese scops Otus erythrocampe from collared scops
Lanyu scops Otus botelensis from elegant scops
Calayan scops owl Otus calayensis from elegant scops
Banggai scops Otus mendeni from Sulawesi scops
Togian scops
Thai race Otus modestus from Oriental scops-owl Otus sunia
Sri Lanka scops Otus leggi from Oriental scops-owl
Andaman/Nicobar from Oriental scops-owl
Formosean Scops Otus hambroecki from mountain scops-owl
Vandewater's scops Otus vandewateri from Mountain scops-owl
Bornean scops Otus lucia from mountain scops-owl
Megascops duidae from Tropical screech owl
Santa Marta screech owl
Megascops vinaceus from Western screech owl
Megascops suttoni from Western screech owl
Megascops mccalli from Eastern screech owl
Apurimac Screech owl from Koepcke's screech owl
Byzantine Eagle owl Bubo interpositus from Eurasian eagle-owl
Mackinder's eagle owl Bubo mackinderi split from Cape eagle-owl
Turkish fish owl Bubo semenowi from brown fish owl
Bengal fish owl Bubo leschenaulti from brown fish owl
Magreb tawny owl Strix mauritanira from tawny owl
Omani owl Strix omanonsis
Mexican spotted owl Strix lucida from spotted owl
California spotted owl Strix caurina from spotted owl
Mexican barred owl Strix sartorri from barred owl
Strix borelitana (Atlantic forest) from Mottled owl
Lapland owl from great-gray owl
Western crested owl Lophostrix stricklandi from crested owl
American hawk owl Surnia caparochrom Northern hawk owl
Glaucidium ucayalae (East Amazonia) from ferruginous pygmy owl
Apurimac pygmy owl from Peruvian pygmy owl
Taenloglaux maliba (Western Ghats) from Jungle owlet
Schefferi's owlet (NE Africa) from African barred owlet
Cucumieu Athene noctua from little owl
Northern little owl Athene plumipes from little owl
Hutton's little owl Athene batriana from little owl
Assam race Athene ultra from Spotted owlet
Florida burrowing owl Athene floridena from burrowing owl
Richardson's owl Aegolis richardsoni from Tengmalm's owl
Aegolius heringi (Brazil) from buff fronted owl
Roti boobook Ninox rotiensis from southern boobook
Alor boobook Ninox plesseni from southern boobook
Timor boobook Ninox fusca from southern boobook
Ryukyu hawk owl from brown hawk owl
Humes's hawk owl Ninox obscura from brown hawk owl
Tawi Tawi boobook Ninox reyi from Philippine boobook
Cebu boobook from Philippine boobook
Mindinao boobook Ninox spilocephala from Philippine boobook
Camiguin boobook from Philippine boobook
Tablas boobook from Philippine boobook
West Solomon boobook Ninox jacquinoti from Solomon boobook
Guadalcanal boobook Ninox granti from Solomon boobook
Malaita boobook Ninox malaitae from Solomon boobook
Makira boobook Ninox roseoaxillaris from Solomon boobook
Bacan hawk owl from Moluccan hawk owl
Gede hawk owl from Moluccan hawk owl
Halmahara hawk owl from Moluccan hawk owl
Tanimbar hawk owl from Moluccan hawk owl
Hantu hawk owl from Moluccan hawk owl
Wilson's owl Asio wilsonianus from long-eared owl
Pohnpei owl Asio ponapensis from short-eared owl
Antillean owl Asio domingensis from short-eared owl
Hawaiian owl Asio sandwichensis from short-eared owl
Field owl Asio suida from short-eared owl
Owl Conservation
1994 edition of Birds to Watch
Rare owls that I have not seen
Critical
Seychelles scops
Anjouan scops
Grand Coromo scops
Forest owlet
Endangered
Madagascar red owl
Blakiston's eagle-owl
Rufous fishing-owl
Vulnerable
Taliabu masked-owl
Manus masked-owl
Bismark masked-owl
Congo bay-owl
white-fronted scops-owl
sokoke scops-owl
Javan scops-owl
Mindoro scops-owl
Usambara eagle-owl
Sichuan wood-owl
Albertine owlet
powerful owl
fearful owl
Near Threatened
lesser sooty owl
Andaman scops-owl
Sao Tome scops-owl
Pemba scops-owl
tawny fish-owl
chestnut-backed owlet
Andaman hawk-owl
owls that I have seen and owls I still need
Here's my list of owls that I have seen. I have adopted a loose taxonomy in anticipation of future splits.
Tasmanian masked-owl
Sulawesi masked-owl
Minahassa masked-owl
Australasian grass-owl
Ashy-faced owl
Common barn-owl
Javan barn owl (Mikkola suggested split)
Australian barn owl
Indian barn owl
Andaman Masked owl
North American barn-owl
South American barn owl
White-winged barn owl (Clement's group, Jamaica)
Colombian barn owl
Galapagos barn owl
African barn-owl
Red owl
Sri Lanka Bay owl
Mountain scops-owl
Vandewater's scops owl Sibley and Monroe suggested split from Mountain scops owl (Sumatran)
Indian scops-owl
Sunda scops-owl
Singapore scops owl
Wallace's sops-owl
Palawan scop's owl
Lowland Luzon scops-owl
Everette's scops-owl
Negros scops-owl
Luzon scops-owl
Javan scops-owl
Flores scops
Rajah scops owl (Sumatra) Clement's group
Mindanao scops-owl
Oriental scops owl
Walden's scops owl
Andaman scops owl
Elegant (Calayan) scops-owl
Common scops-owl
Cyprus scops-owl
Pallid scops-owl
Arabian scops
Flammulated owl
Moluccan scops-owl
Rinjani scops owl
Simeulue scops owl
Mantanani scops-owl
Sulawesi scops-owl
Sangihe scops owl
Peleng scops owl
Sokoke scops owl
Malagasy scops-owl
Torotoroka scops-owl
Mayotte scops owl
Anjouan scops owl
Grand Comoro scops owl
Moheli scops owl
Seychelles scops owl
Western screech-owl
Vinaceous screech owl (xanthusi race-per HBW)
Sutton's screech owl (Clement's group from Western screech)
McCall's screech owl (Clement's group from Eastern Screech)
Balsas screech owl
Santa Marta screech-owl
Whiskered screech-owl
Eastern screech-owl
Pacific screech-owl
Oaxacan screech-owl
Tropical screech-owl
Long-tufted screech-owl
Koepcke's screech-owl
Apurimac screech-owl
Peruvian screech-owl
Tumbesian screech-owl
Colombian screech-owl
Rufescent screech-owl
Cloud-forest screech-owl
Bare-shanked screech-owl
Bearded screech-owl
Hoy's screech-owl
Cinnamon screech-owl
Vermiculated screech-owl (Choco)
Guatemalan screech-owl (West Mexican)
Mesoamerican screech-owl (West Mexican)
Rio Napo screech-owl
(Southern) tawny-bellied screech-owl
(Northern) tawny-bellied screech-owl
(Belem) tawny-bellied screech owl
Black-capped screech-owl
White-throated screech-owl
Northern white-faced owl
Giant scops-owl
Great-horned owl
Magellan owl
Eurasian eagle-owl
Rock eagle-owl
Dusky Eagle owl
Pharaoh eagle owl
Desert pharaoh eagle owl (Clement's group)
Vermiculated eagle-owl
Arabian eagle-owl (Spotted)
Mackinder's Eagle-owl
Forest eagle-owl
Barred eagle-owl
Verreaux's eagle-owl
Snowy owl
Philippine eagle-owl
Buffy fish-owl
Brown fish owl
Turkish fish-owl
spotted wood-owl
Mottled wood-owl
Mexican spotted-owl
Northern spotted-owl
California spotted owl
Brown wood-owl
Bornean wood owl
Nias wood owl
Mountain wood-owl
tawny owl
Maghreb owl
Hume's owl
Omani owl
Mottled owl
Atlantic mottled owl
Mexican wood owl
Rufous legged owl
Chaco owl
Rufous-banded owl
Rusty-barred owl
Black and white owl
Black-banded owl
San Isidro owl
Fulvous owl
Northern barred owl
Mexican barred owl
Ural owl
Great gray-owl
African wood-owl
Crested owl (Choco)
Crested owl (Amazon)
Spectacled owl
Short-browed owl
Tawny-browed owl
Band-bellied owl
Northern hawk-owl
Collared owlet
Sumatra owlet (or Sunda proposed split from Collared by Eaton)
Pearl-spotted owlet
Eurasian pygmy-owl
Northern (Pacific) pygmy-owl
Northern (Rocky Mountain) pygmy-owl
Mountain pygmy-owl
Guatemalan Pygmy owl
Cape pygmy owl
Yungas pygmy-owl
Austral pygmy owl
Costa Rican pygmy-owl
Andean pygmy-owl
Tucamen pygmy-owl
Colima pygmy-owl
Tamaulipas pygmy owl
Central American pygmy-owl
Amazonian pygmy-owl
Least pygmy owl
Subtropical-pygmy-owl
Cloud forest pygmy-owl
Ferruginous pygmy-owl
Colombian pygmy-owl
“ucayalae" pygmy owl
Ridgeway's pygmy-owl
Peruvian pygmy-owl
Apurimac pygmy-owl
Asian barred owlet
Malabar barred owlet (Konig suggested split)
Javan owlet
Jungle owlet
Whitney's Elf owl
Texas Elf owl
Sanford's Elf owl
Long-whiskered owlet
(Northern) Burrowing owl
(Hispaniola) Burrowing owl
Venezuelan burrowing owl
(Ecuadorian) burrowing owl
(Andean) Burrowing owl
(Littoral) Burrowing owl
(Grallaria) Burrowing owl
(Southern) Burrowing owl
Spotted owlet
Little owl
Cucumai
Lillith owl
Forest owlet
Boreal owl
Northern saw-whet owl
Unspotted saw-whet owl
Buff-fronted owl
Brazilian buff-fronted owl
Barking owl
Sumba boobook
Southern boobook
Tasmanian boobook
Timor boobook
Rote boobook
Little Sumba hawk-owl
Brown hawk-owl
Hume's hawk owl
Andaman hawk owl
Chocolate boobook
White-browed owl
Luzon hawk-owl
Mindanao boobook
Sulu boobook
Mindoro hawk-owl
Romblon hawk-owl
Cebu hawk-owl
Camiguin hawk-owl
Ochre-bellied boobook
Speckled boobook
Cinnabar boobook (& "white-spotted boobook")
Togian boobook
Jamaican owl
Stygian owl
Long-eared owl
Wilson's owl
Madagascan long-eared owl
Short-eared owl
Galapagos short-eared owl
Field owl
Antillean owl
Hawaiian Owl
Marsh owl
Striped owl (#234)
And here is a list of owls I still need to see:
Madeira barn owl Robb split from Eastern barn owl
Slender-billed barn owl Robb split from Eastern barn owl
Curacao barn owl
Lesser Antilles barn owl
Dominican barn owl (poss split from Lesser Antilles barn owl)
Cape Verde barn owl
Sao Tome barn owl
Bioko barn owl Clement's group from Eastern barn owl
Boang barn owl
Santa Cruz Barn Owl (from Australian)
Golden masked owl
Taliabu masked owl
African grass owl
Buru (lesser) masked owl Clements group from lesser masked owl
Tanimbar (lesser) masked owl Clements group from lesser masked owl
Seram masked owl
Manus masked owl
Australian masked owl
New Guinea masked owl Sibley and Monroe suggested split from Australian Masked owl
Lesser sooty owl
Greater sooty owl
New Guinea sooty owl Konig suggested split
Itombwe owl
Oriental bay owl
Sri Lanka bay owl Mikkola suggested split from south Indian birds
Serendib scops owl
Reddish sandy scops Clement's group from Sandy scops
Sandy scops owl Clement's group from Sandy scops
White-fronted scops owl
Stressmann's scops owl (possibly not a species)
Mindoro scops owl
Sao Tome scops owl
Principe scops owl
Socotra scops owl
African scops owl
Snowy scops owl Clement's group from African scops
Annabon scops owl Konig suggested split and Clement's group from African scops
Somali scops owl undescribed form, possible split from African scops owl
Formosan scops owl Sibley and Monroe suggested split from Mountain scops owl
Bornean scops owl Sibley and Monroe suggested split from Mountain scops owl
Sulu scops owl Sibley and Monroe suggested split from Mantanani scops owl
Northern Oriental scops owl taxonomy unclear, possible split from Southern birds
Lanyu scops owl possible split from Elegant scops owl
Rykuyu scops owl possible split from Elegant scops owl
Daito Scops-Owl possible split from Elegant scops owl
Wetar scops owl
Sula scops owl
Siau scops owl (possibly extinct)
Kalidupa scops owl
Pemba scops owl
Nicabor scops owl
Sri lankan scops (from Oriental)
"Bengal scops" (From Oriental)
Enggano scops owl
Mentawai scops owl
Rajah scops owl (Borneo)
Collared scops owl
Chinese collared scops Mikkola suggested split from Collared scops
Pryer's Scops-Owl from Japanese scops
Japanese scops owl
Costa Rican screech owl (from Choco Screech)
Puntarenas screech owl (from Choco Screech)
Puerto Rican screech owl
Alagoas Screech owl Dantus
Xingu screech owl Dantus
Duida screech owl (Konig suggested split from Tropical screech)
Foothill screech Roraima (Clement's group)
Venezuelan screech owl (N Venezuala and Sierra Perija of N Colombia)
Cuban bare-legged owl
Palau scops owl
Southern white-faced owl
Byzantine eagle owl Robb suggested split from Eurasian
Ethiopian Eagle owl (from Mackinder's)
Cape eagle owl (Clements group from Mackinder's)
Akun eagle owl
African spotted eagle owl
Fraser's eagle owl
Usambara eagle owl May be a ssp of Fraser’s
Shelly's eagle owl
Tawny fish owl
Bengal fish owl Robb split from brown fish owl
Blakiston's fish owl Continental birds
Blakiston’s fish owl Japanese birds
Pel's fish owl
Vermiculated fish owl
Rufous fish owl
Bartell's wood owl (Likely same as Bornean birds)
Himalayan wood owl
Taiwan wood owl (poss split from Himalayan wood)
Sichuan wood owl May be lumped with Ural owl
Lapland owl Robb split from great-gray owl
Maned owl
Western red-chested owlet Clement's group from red-chested owlet
Pycraft's red-chested owlet Clement's group from red-chested owlet
Eastern red-chested owlet Clement's group from red-chested owlet
Trinidad pygmy owl (poss split from Ferruginous)
Neblina pygmy owl (undescribed Luis Fabio Silveria) may be ferruginous pygmy owl
Chaco Pygmy Owl (from Ferruginous, different from Tucuman)
Pernambuco pygmy owl possibly extinct
Cuban pygmy owl
chestnut-backed owlet
Sjoeatedt's owlet
Scheffler's owlet Clement's group from African barred
African barred (Ngami) (central)
Cape owlet Clement's group from African barred
Etchecopar's owlet
Chestnut owlet
Albertine owlet
Borneo owlet (Proposed split from Sunda owlet by Eaton)
Taiwan owlet (from collared)
Hutton's little owl Clement's group from little owl
Northern (or Eastern) Little owl Mikkola split from Little owl
Florida burrowing owl (Clements group, separate from Hispaniola birds)
Clarion Burrowing owl
Llanos burrowing owl
Guiana Burrowing owl
Ethiopian little owl
Tengmalm's owl Robb split and Clement's group from Boreal
Queen Charlotte Island saw whet Clement's group
Rufous owl
Powerful owl
Morepork
Alor boobook
Red boobook
Babar boobook
Moa boobook Poss split from Southern boobook
Savu Boobook Poss split from Southern boobook
Northern boobook
Taiwan/Ryukuyu boobook possible split (birds of NE Asia) from Northern boobook (genetic divergence about 1.7%)
West Solomon boobook
Guadalcanal boobook
Malaita boobook
Makira boobook
Christmas hawk-owl
Jungle hawk owl
New Britain hawk-owl
Buru Boobook
Seram boobook
Halmahara boobook
Bacan boobook Mikkola suggested split from Halmahara boobook
Tanimbar boobook Clements group from Moluccan hawk owl
Gede boobook (Mikkola comment that an undescribed boobook lives on Gede Is)
Manus hawk-owl
Bismark hawk-owl
Eurasian Northern hawk-owl Robb split from Northern hawk owl
Papuan hawk owl
Fearful owl
Abyssinian long-eared owl
Pohnpei short-eared owl Clements group from short-eared owl
Tumbes owl 141
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)