OWLS REMAIN ON THE RESERVE, 2016 SNOW GOOSE FESTIVAL RESULTS

Our snow goose festival outing was a huge success with two Northern Saw-whet Owls captured in mist-nets. One bird had previously been banded by our team in October 2015 during fall migration, an indication that the bird was wintering on the Reserve property, and had so far survived the hardships of winter. All good news for this individual.

Happy Snow Goose Festival participants gather around
a saw-whet owl.

Our trip is always a quick sellout every year because many people have never seen these beautiful, common but cryptic owls.  Our team this year was me, Steve King, Sheila Frisk and Ken Sobon. Thanks team!

OCTOBER - THE MONTH FOR OWLS AND BATS!

An interesting evening weather-wise and detection-wise. We started the night under clouds and warmth had one NSWO and one Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) capture on our first net check. And bats are so cool! The Pallid bat flies low to eat insects on the ground, which is why we frequently catch them in our nets, but only at the beginning of the season. Pallids use their big ears to detect prey and often turn their sonar off. That is why they sometime don't detect the net, but once they know the nets are there, they turn on the sonar to avoid capture.

A Pallid Bat, note large ears, eyes and teeth for capturing
ground-dwelling insects. Pallid bats often emit a musky odor
when disturbed, a good protection from predators- think skunk.
This is a web photo.

It was quiet and still after that, until the clouds parted, stars and cooler temps appeared and then came the owls.  Saw-whets, screech and great horned began to call and we banded three more owls near the end of our night. Weather likely made a difference. Thanks Sheila Frisk, Julie Newman, Wyatt Hersey and Steve King!

OUR DINNERS WITH HOWARD

Words cannot express the sadness in saying goodbye to another friend, so generous to our cause and an intelligent, witty and kind soul. Our memories are happy when we think of Howard Wurlitzer (yes, of Wurlitzer pianos and jukeboxes!), his mischievous laugh and smile and LOVE of field biologists, their stories and research. I had the great opportunity to meet Howard in 2009 at our owl banding site at BCCER during a Candles in the Canyon reserve fundraiser.  After meeting his first Saw-whet, we became fast friends and Howard became a big supporter of  Altacal's NSWO migration project.

Howard's first NSWO-she got him hooked! Saw-whets do
that to people.

To show our appreciation, our crew of banders (which often varied from year to year) set up an annual NSWO banding dinner at Howard's house in N. Chico. Each year's group of banders came with nets, poles and banding equipment and set up a few nets on Pine Creek that ran past Howard's home. We brought pasta or chili, salads and breads, and bottles of wine and engaged in a yummy feast around Howard's big table. In year two, we were joined by Howard's son Lindsay and wife Paula,and our tradition continued through Dec. 2013. Most years we captured the resident Western Screech Owls, but in 2012 we captured our first Saw-whet, which confirmed that at least one was wintering in the oak woodland habitat that is dominant on the property.

Our first dinner with Howard. True we look quite civilized
and subdued but the fun and the tradition had just begun!

There are so many stories to share but one most memorable happened when we were all chatting at the table and Dorthy, Howard's good friend, said excitedly "there's a ringtail at the window!" And there at the porch slider was a ringtail  peering at us-as though it was asking for a handout.We truly had a National Geographic moment on that well-lit porch, when this normally elusive mammal climbed up an overhanging oak tree and picked off a sleeping songbird, plucked its' small meal, and then scampered away. What a sighting for us!

Howard had a knack for engaging you in a great story, usually biological but also about art, regional history, good wine and local legends. We are so honored to have met this man and called him our friend. We will miss you Howard!

Howard with one of his resident W. Screech Owls and three
friends, Julie, Dorothy and me.

A TRIBUTE TO MEL RICHARDSON - BANDING ASSISTANT EXTRAORDINAIRE

Dr. Mel, instrumental in our NSWO fall monitoring project, died this January 2014 at a too young age of 63.

Dr. Mel Richardson w/NSWO

 Dr. Mel was my very first owl bander.  Indeed Mel was there when I first  learned to band in 1993.  He forayed with me to remote sites in  WA state to  band owls.  After moving to CA and before I had recruited banders at my  newly established site at BCCER, Mel joined me one night despite being  exhausted after traveling internationally. I picked him up at the airport and after  we banded several owls, Mel climbed into the car and slept, but woke occasionally to check for my headlamp and watched as it "bobbed up and down the net lanes and back to the banding station, with more owls." We captured 14 owls that night, still our biggest night yet, and the number to beat. 

It was during songbird banding  operations that I nicknamed Mel  "heater hands" because he would cup the cold  hands of early morning banders to warm them before they handled birds. Always thinking of the birds comfort, Mel had a compassionate heart for my banders too. Thank you for your support and love of us, birds and all animals, Dr. Mel.

SAW-WHET GETS SECOND CHANCE -THANK YOU BIDWELL WILDLIFE REHABILITATION!

Recently I had the privilege to help Marilyn Gamette, director of the Bidwell  Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (BWRC), age and sex a saw-whet owl.  The owl was found stunned in the road by a couple who saw her, stopped, and picked her up. They wrapped her in a towel and took her to BWRC.  Marilyn knew the owl had a head trauma (likely hit by a car) because one of her pupils was very slow to respond.

Note a slight unevenness in the owl's pupils,
her right pupil larger than then her left.

After 1 and 1/2 months of rehabilitation, her pupils responded equally.  Marilyn said the owl had no problem eating a couple of mice a day, and at a hefty 108 grams, she was fit to fly.  We determined by her feather pattern that she had hatched in the summer of 2012. Marilyn will release her in the Pine Creek Unit where there is abundant dense vegetation for roosting and plenty of prey for the winter. 

Marilyn Gamette, BWRC's Director, and rehabilitated saw-whet owl

The kindness of the rescuers and Marilyn's expertise gave a second chance to this saw-whet owl. Bidwell Wildlife Rehab treats and releases hundreds of wildlife a year supported mostly through the generosity of private donations.  Thank you owl rescuers and BWRC!  Check out this darling video of a Saw-whet Owl being released.

ADORABLE OWL PAINTING BY A LOCAL ARTIST- A SNEAK PEAK! Come see it for real at the Snow Goose Festival, 2013!

I hope you plan to attend some of the incredible field outings and events at Chico's own Snow Goose Festival (SGF), January 24-27, 2013. Now in its 14th year, the festival was designed to celebrate our incredible valley habitat, an invaluable portion of the Pacific Flyway to geese, swans, ducks, shorebirds, and raptors, including owls.  As you know, one of my favorite species is the Northern Saw-whet Owl,and we will be showing them off in two of our SGF outings. In the winter they are here - tiny and cryptic, well hidden in chaparral shrubs, valley riparian vegetation and foothill oaks. One local artist has captured the realistic cuteness of the saw-whet in her painting below - and this unique, original acrylic can be yours!

Northern Saw-whet Owl in Oak Tree Cavity.
By local artist Dorothy Davis

 Dorothy Davis wanted to contribute a piece of her art to help support the owl project.  Her adorable painting will be up for bid at SGF silent auction at the banquet, "A Gathering of Wings." Make sure to stop by and place a bid!. We are so fortunate to have a valley full of birds and artists to capture their beauty.

Close up of Saw-whet by Dorothy Davis

THANK YOU DOROTHY!

OWL SEASON, 2012-OFF TO A FLYING START!

Our saw-whet season officially starts October 15 with our standardized 5 days/week monitoring. But we always like to do a little random sampling to see when the first birds show up.  And we are glad we did!

Trio of Saw-whets! Photo by Steve King

Starting on September 29th, we had a zero owl night, with no owls (of any species) heard. On October 6th banders Mike Fisher, Raina and Steve King and Julie Shaw gave a special outing to Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve guests. Everyone was incredibly pleased with TWO saw-whet owls and a Myotis bat, hooting Great horned owls and a trilling screech owl.

Since then:
October 8: 2 NSWO, 1 Hatch year (HY), 1 After Hatch Year (AHY)
October 11: 6 NSWO, 3 HY and 3 AHY!

It is bound to be a good season for owls!
You can join us too - check out the post below for our awesome owl outing raffle.