[Tweeters] Barred Owl Hooting in Ballard

[Dennis Paulson via Tweeters]

Mike, they are thrilling to hear and see. We live above Thornton Creek, where there is a nesting pair, and we hear them from time to time and have seen them in our yard a few times. They seem to be the only owl species in the neighborhood.

But I wanted to note that they are not an invasive species. An invasive species is one that humans have transported out of its normal range and, often unfortunately, does very well in its new location at the expense of other species.

Barred Owls, on the other hand, expanded their range naturally across the Rockies and then down the Pacific states. The only thing we had to do with that probably involves the habitat changes that we have made over time that facilitated the owl’s expansion.

Yes, they are threatening the existence of endangered Spotted Owls, and they may be involved in the disappearance of screech-owls from some urban areas, but they are a natural phenomenon, much like the variety of bird species that have expanded their ranges north from California into Washington without such apparent consequences.

Dennis Paulson
Seattle 


> On Jul 16, 2024, at 8:57 AM, Mike Wagenbach via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> 

> I heard two Barred Owls calling back and forth in Discovery Park in the late 1990s, IIRC, so they are around.  Eventually we were able to see one of them in a tree near the trail, but it was amazing how hard the bird was to spot when it was only maybe 30 feet away.  It was near the point marked 17 in the map here:  https: //www.fodp.org/maps/ <http://www.fodp.org/maps/> (remove the space to open link)

> 

> I'm not thrilled to hear them since they are an invasive species and are said to be tough on the Screech Owls.

> 

> Mike Wagenbach

> Seattle

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