I had contacted someone last week about the CLNP to give those owls a good
buffer by roping off ASAP..at least 30 feet but the person I spoke too
believes roping the area off has no merit.. the owls move.  I was just
there to see the area for myself and I see well worn areas where the owls
must have stayed put. I plan to follow up Monday with your findings and my
photos. Simple signs and rope could be significant.  Its a shame someone
hadn’t suggested roping or tape earlier.


On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 1:33 PM Haans Petruschke <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> The little Northern Saw-whet Owls have been very reliable in the same
> location for weeks at CLNP, but are not there today.  Examination of the
> roost site showed that the tangle had been trimmed with a clipper all the
> way back to where one of the little owls would sit.  Of course the owl is
> no longer there.
>
> These owls showed remarkable fidelity to this location and tolerance to
> close approach by humans which is typical if they are in a protected
> location.  Cutting the tangle eliminated the protective aspect of the roost
> and so the little owls are gone.
>
> I was not present when the cutting was done and do not know the reason.
> Anything I might suggest would be speculative and so I refuse to speculate
> for the reason or motive for the disturbance.
>
> This was great while it lasted, and it is too bad the site was disturbed in
> such a gross manner.  The fidelity to this site over such a long period
> provides good evidence of how tolerant owls can be to human presence so
> long as we do not go too far.
>
> How far is too far? Cutting stuff certainly.  Also touching the bird.  I
> have found that having loud groups taken to see roosting owls also results
> in them leaving an otherwise reliable roost. But as Roger Tory Peterson
> noted so long ago, Owls can otherwise be ridiculously tame and
> approachable.  No different than Warblers or Chickadees in the right
> situation.
>
> Haans
>
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