Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 03:17:35 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norman Saunders Subject: Re: Owl Postings MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Keith Eric Costley asks: > I vaguely remember an e-mail about posting owl sightings > on MDOsprey. I made an attempt to find the posting; but > I could not. If it is not too much trouble can you refresh > my memory as to the content of that message? Should I > post owl locations on MDOsprey? The general thoughts on owl sightings are that it is alright to post locations for Short-eared and Snowy Owl sightings. All other owl locations should not be posted. The reason is that owls often create a feeding frenzy among birders, especially for the harder-to-find species such as Long-eared Owl. These birds can be easily flushed from their daytime roosts by over-zealous birders, leaving them as easy targets for daytime predators. Short-eared and Snowy Owls are open country birds that often hunt during the day or at dusk and as a result have developed defenses of their own against predators and are thus less apt to be disturbed by birders searching for them (within reason, of course). Do recall, however, the problems last winter that surrounded the Snowy Owl up in Frederick County--even this rule has to be taken with a grain of salt. Best, Norm Saunders ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================