RE: [Maine-birds] Great Grey in Skowhegan

With respect to Scott, who responded to my post, his assertions are opinion and not science-based and they do not disprove the many incidences of owls who starved to death while being bothered by human observers.     I distinctly recall specific documentations and long conversations about  these incidents on the bird list during the past 10 years (and interestingly, Great Gray Owl was the only species I remember these incidents happening to) but I don't have access to those archives.   Maybe someone else does?  Good birding,

Sean Smith

 

 

 

From: maine-birds@googlegroups.com [mailto:maine-birds@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Scott Cronenweth
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 2:38 PM
To: Maine Birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Maine-birds] Great Grey in Skowhegan

 

An observation, birding friends: Many owls and diurnal raptors hunt successfully in the midst of highway noise and urban racket. Snowy Owls can hear the scuttling of mice in faraway bow traps over the roar of nearby jet engines, as Norm Smith has routinely observed at Logan Airport. (We just don't know how the heck that's possible!)

 

If all it took was a decibel clash of wind noise over open ground, or the excited chatter of birders or Blue Jays, to blot out an owl's hunting-hearing, they probably would've have flown silently across the past however-many million years.

 

Peace & happy ethical owl-viewing,

 

Scott Cronenweth

Farmington, ME

scottcronenweth@icloud.com

 

 

On Jan 17, 2017, at 1:52 PM, Sean Smith <therefromhere168@gmail.com> wrote:

 

As I think Derek pointed out at the time when the 2006 Great Gray Owl met its fate, owls hunt by hearing, but that thought doesn't seem to enter a lot of owl spectators' minds.  The first things I noticed when arriving at Milford to see the 2006 GGO were:

 

1. Over a dozen birders standing around excitedly gabbing to each other in loud voices about 100 feet from the owl while waiting to take pictures of it, as if they were in line at a rock concert.   There was a loud, constant stream of chatter.   How would anyone expect it to be able to hear prey?   Or did they even care?
2. Some people standing WAY too close to the bird for the selfish reason of getting ultra- close photos, instead of observing it from a respectful distance.
3. A dog barking loudly inside someone's vehicle and you could see the owl was bothered because of its movements & expression whenever the dog barked.

 

I don't think any Great Gray Owl that ends up in Maine is expendable for peoples' entertainment.   I know the majority of birders would behave themselves but it only takes a couple of morons to stress the owl, which by its nature won't do what other species would consider the sensible thing by taking off and hiding from them.

 

 

Sean Smith

 

From: maine-birds@googlegroups.com [mailto:maine-birds@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Andrew Block
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 1:27 PM
To: Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Maine-birds] Re: Great Grey in Skowhegan

 

I agree Bill.  Great post.

 

Andrew

On Monday, January 16, 2017 at 5:46:31 PM UTC-5, Bill wrote:

Before too much more angst is expressed about the presumed stress the Skowhegan Great Grey Owl might feel from a comparatively few people looking at it with telescopic optics, it might be worthwhile to consider this bird in perspective. The worldwide population of this species is estimated at 190,000 individuals with 90,000 of them in North America (Partners in Flight, 2013). Happily, its conservation status is as a "species of least concern," and its numbers are considered to be increasing. By no means am I suggesting that this excuses birders from acting with respect when viewing this bird, but presuming it is any more fragile or precious than any other stakeout bird--much less issuing blanket condemnations of the birding community--hardly seems warranted. A couple of times each winter a Great Grey Owl turns up in Maine to the delight of a few people who get to see it. For some of those people it will be a bird they won't forget, and the experience might even generate more votes for conservation. Why not share this opportunity? Goodness, literally hundreds of Snowy Owls are legally shot at airports across North America every winter and we are worrying about a single Great Grey Owl turning its head to look at us? 

 

Bill Hancock,

Gray

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