I would agree with David M. that the Morgan Run LEOW's are almost certainly
wintering south of their breeding range, and not "setting up shop" in Carroll
County. There were Long-eared's found in winter regularly at a Laytonsville
(Montgomery County) tree farm up until 3-4 years ago, when their roosting
grove of dense spruce trees and scrub pines was plowed under in favor of
more cornfields, unfortunately. As I remember, the owls were usually gone by
late March.
It is admittedly a dilemma on how best to announce the discovery of these
beautiful (and scarce) birds, but from what I have heard (or read on
MDOsprey), I think Bob Ringler has handled the matter exactly right, balancing
the owls' need for solitude with the birding community's desire to see these
most uncommon owls.
BTW--I believe that there is a fairly recent report (maybe 1999-2000?) of
nesting Long-eared's in Garrett County, found by Jim Stasz and Marshall Illiff, I
believe. There is a story with black-and-white pictures about this find in one
of the "Maryland Birdlife" issues, but I don't have the date of that issue at
hand.
Mark England
Damascus, Md. |