Well said, Scott, but I'm betting it's not anyone who subscribes to this List that was/is misbehaving. It is still a GREAT reminder for ALL of us as we approach the courting, mating, and nesting season for a great majority of birds.
Susan Rosine Brighton On Sat, Mar 5, 2022, 11:46 AM Scott <pygmy...@frii.com> wrote: > Hi Everyone. > > I have been studying Northern Pygmy-Owls for more than 20 years. I do > not care in the least about who is getting images of the owl in Lyons. > > My concern is for the birds themselves. To give some natural history of > Northern Pygmy-Owls > > They begin courtship in mid-February, which some of you have seen. Their > territories can be as large as a square mile. They will mate anywhere > within that area at anytime from mid-February until they begin nesting > which is often from late April to late May. > > The male will find a cavity that he likes and try to entice the female > to accept it. This is when I feel problems may occur as people will > want images of this. > > This is the one of the most crucial time for the owls. If at anytime > after the female has accepted the nest until the eggs hatch she can > abandon the nest if she does not feel safe. If she does this the male > will have to find another site that she likes, which can be several > hundred yards away. > > Another problem that I can see arising is all of the people near the > owl. There are so many Cooper's Hawk around now that they can become a > problem and predate the owls, as they will be watching people to see > what they may be looking at, because it may be a potential prey item for > the hawk. This can be particularity problematic when the owls are > spending more time looking at people with cameras rather than keeping an > eye out for both potential prey and predators. > > Another very sensitive time is when the young begin peering from their > nest. If people are watching the owlets in the nest, this can attract > potential predators to the nest which includes squirrels that can > predate the young in the nest. > > Once out of the nest the young owls are also vulnerable to predation > from jays, magpies, crows, squirrels and hawks as they will be > frightened by people trying to get photos of them and try to fly away. > > I would recommend that everyone leaves the birds alone after the > beginning of April and let them nest and raise their family in peace. > > Just my thoughts, > > Scott Rashid > Director of CARRI > > -- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > https://www.avast.com/antivirus > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/26887e4b-befa-ed86-c6f5-a5ee3c1a8544%40frii.com > . > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACPnx8Wc0iUF1LLiZcwdezRuKcoui-ykL-KEDpRiV0%2Bhgcxu_w%40mail.gmail.com.
