Good info on Saw-whets from my home state. -----Original Message----- From: Bird discussion list for Pennsylvania [mailto:pabi...@list.audubon.org] On Behalf Of Scott Weidensaul Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 1:51 PM To: pabi...@list.audubon.org Subject: Re: [PABIRDS] Question: Saw-whet winter habitat vs breeding habitat
Based on six or seven years of fall/winter radio telemetry, we've=20 found that saw-whets like thick cover. Before leaf-fall, they=20 generally prefer to roost high in the outer branches of hardwood=20 trees, tucked into clusters of leaves. Once the leaves drop, they=20 shift to various kinds of evergreen cover -- conifers, laurel or=20 rhododendron thickets, dense blowdown, etc. On South Mountain, where we've done most of our telemetry the past=20 few years (including two owls that Aura Stauffer, one of my volunteer=20 banders, continues to track) the preferred trees at this time of year=20 seem to be pitch pine and white pine -- and even when you have a=20 signal, it can be very tough to pick a small, round owl out among=20 hundreds of similarly sized pitch-pine cones. Elsewhere, I've found=20 them in hemlocks. No doubt they'd use eastern redcedar or Christmas=20 tree plantings -- they're opportunistic. In terms of height, that can=20 range from a few feet off the ground to the tops of the trees. I'll repeat a suggestion I've made in the past, for those trying to=20 lure saw-whets for CBCs using tapes. Because saw-whets are the=20 smallest eastern owl, everything else (including screech-owls) may=20 catch and kill them, so always start with a saw-whet call first,=20 before playing any other species. Don't expect the owl to reply to a=20 toot call with another toot -- that's a rare vocalization at this=20 time of year, and mew or whine calls are much more common. Most CD=20 sets don't include these calls, but Cornell's new "Voices of North=20 American Owls" does. Finally, to be successful, you have to be patient. Unlike most=20 other owls, which respond quickly and vocally to tapes, saw-whets are=20 shy and secretive, and it often takes them fifteen, twenty, even=20 forty minutes to come in to a tape, and even then, they may not call=20 much. Not very encouraging, I know, and fortunately some will call=20 right off the bat. But that's why I believe saw-whets are grossly=20 under-reported on CBCs. Incidentally, this was a spectacularly bad year for saw-whet=20 migration in this part of the East; our three-site banding project=20 caught only 201 in more than two months of operation, far below our=20 average. It appears the saw-whet population is actually fairly high=20 (some Canadian stations had all-time high numbers), but was=20 short-stopped in eastern Canada by record high rodent populations, a=20 product of a record-breaking mast crop. There's a chance, though,=20 that the heavy snow now hitting parts of southern Canada may cut off=20 that food supply by sheltering the rodents, forcing the owls farther=20 south -- perhaps in time for Christmas counts. Scott Weidensaul Schuylkill Haven, PA >Hi All, > >With Christmas Bird Counts upcoming, I wanted to ask about the habitat >used by Saw-whets at this time of year. In the spring/summer, I know that >they will use thick understory within coniferous or mixed overstory. > >Will they also use this spring/summer habitat during late fall & winter? > >I know that they will use clumps of cedar trees at certain spots in=20 >winter, and >Christmas tree farms. > >Would appreciate any info. Please post to the list if you can. > >Thanks greatly. > >Dave Kruel >Pottsville