Osprey readers,
As published in Maryland’s list of rare, threatened and endangered species,
the current official status of the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) is SHB, short
for “State Historic Breeder.” The full definition of SH is “Historically
known from Maryland, but not verified for an extended period (usually 20 or
more years), with the expectation that it may be rediscovered.” For
conservation purposes, when applied to birds this status refers primarily to
breeding occurrences (thus the B) because breeding occurrences have a
greater potential for effective protection and conservation than wintering
occurrences of migratory species. If you are curious about Maryland’s
official lists go to http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/espaa.asp to learn
more or view the list yourself.
Governments do not always move quickly; in some cases deliberately, to
properly give citizens time to comment, and legislator’s time for their
review. The Long-eared Owl’s SHB status is no longer correct and in time it
will be changed to S1. The S1 designation is “Highly State Rare” and its
definition is “Critically imperiled in Maryland because of extreme rarity
(typically 5 or fewer estimated occurrences or very few remaining
individuals or acres in the State) or because of some factor(s) making it
especially vulnerable to extirpation.” Species with this rank are actively
tracked by the Wildlife and Heritage Service. Most, but not all, bird
species listed as S1 are also listed as endangered, threatened or, in need
of conservation by the state of Maryland, for example Northern Goshawk and
Short-eared Owl, as well as many others.
The Maryland status of Long-eared Owls will change to S1 because a few years
ago there was a successful nesting in Garrett County. At the time, the
nesting was kept quite to protect the site, but it is a well documented
record. When Maryland’s official legal lists of conservation statuses
(endangered, threatened or in need of conservation) are next updated, it is
possible that Long-eared Owl will also be given a legal conservation status.
Historical records for Long-eared Owl occurred in Anne Arundel, Baltimore,
Montgomery, and Prince Georges counties (see “Yellow Book” and Stewart &
Robbins 1958). One of those records was a nest with chicks on 14 April 1946
in Baltimore County (Kolb 1947 in Stewart & Robbins 1958). In the Birds of
North American account for Long-eared Owl the average incubation period for
Long-eared Owls is stated to be 26-28 days. So unless folks believe in live
birth by owls or spontaneous generation of chicks by Long-eared Owls, if the
nestlings reported by Kolb were no more than one day old, the latest date
that a one egg clutch incubated for 26 days could have been initiated would
be today 19 March! I have not read Kolb, but presume there to have been
more than one chick and it is quite possible, and would not be unlikely, for
the incubation period to have been 28 days. If the 1946 pair of owls had
laid a clutch of 4 eggs and incubated for 28 days, this would push the date
for the first egg in the nest, and therefore Maryland’s true “first egg
date” so often cited from the venerable “Yellow Book” of 3 April, back a
minimum of 23 days to 12 March. Just because no one saw these eggs, does
not mean that they were not there. If the chicks were there, then the eggs
had to have been there!
To our immediate north in Pennsylvania there were Long-eared Owl breeding
confirmations during their first atlas (1983-1989) in the Piedmont, not far
to the north of the Maryland in Cumberland, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties.
A few quotes from the Pennsylvania atlas (Brauning 1992) are insightful.
“In southern Pennsylvania, all “confirmed” breeding records were of birds in
pine plantations near fields” [a.k.a. similar to Morgan Run]. “…but it
[LEOW] also begins nesting early in the spring before the winter roosts have
dispersed.” “Another example comes from the confirmed site at Middle Creek
Wildlife Management Area in northern Lancaster County. Although this was a
regular location to see wintering Long-eared Owls, a nesting pair went
unnoticed by the birding community. The confirmed nesting evidence came
from a wildlife photographer who carefully documented each nesting stage at
the same time that winter roosts were being regularly observed nearby.”
The point of the above is that phenologcally it is no longer winter for
Long-eared Owls that have breed, or might breed, in Maryland! If they haven’t
already initiated courtship, they can at any time and we are now into the
time when eggs have occurred within the state of Maryland in the past. It
does not even take the impact of global warming to justify right now as the
breeding season for Long-eared Owls!
To cite yet another source, the phenology information from the Birds of
North America account for Long-eared Owl agrees well with the historical
Maryland observations. For example, on pair formation the BNA account
authors (Marks, Evans and Holt 1994) state, “Actual timing of pair formation
unknown. Presumably begins at communal roosts from Jan through Mar, or soon
after roosts disband. In some cases males occupy breeding sites up to 8 d
before females arrive (Cramp 1985).” On nesting Marks, Evans and Holt
state, “First clutches usually laid mid-Mar to mid-May (Marks 1986), with
earliest eggs in late Feb (Kebbe 1954; also see Fig. 4). In Idaho, nests
initiated later at higher elevations (Marks 1986).” Carroll, County
Maryland is certainly not a “higher elevation”, at least by Idaho standards.
Now that I’ve presented some published information and it is fresh in
everyone’s minds, let’s consider the Morgan Run pair of Long-eared owls.
First, these birds are now unquestionably within the time period when
Long-eared Owls have been documented as breeding in Maryland. Thus it is
reasonably possible that two owls in suitable habitat, i.e. conifers near
open fields that are virtually required for breeding in this part of the
east, could be pair bonding and considering initiating a nest attempt, if
they have not already begun the process of nesting. If that is the case,
these are very rare individuals and an important conservation target. Yes,
they could be individuals from further north that are still wintering and
will eventually depart. If anyone can reliably tell that by simple daytime
observation, please tell us all how to make that very important judgment!
Until then, treat them with respect as you would any breeding endangered
bird. Personally, I prefer to err on the conservative side on this one and
not disturb them, just in case. The only way we will know for certain if
they were going to breed is to give them that chance. If we allow frequent
visitation by groups to continue and they leave, we’ll always wonder, “What
if we hadn’t…?” If we back off and they stay and breed, we will know that
collectively we did the right thing, even if it may not have been essential.
We will then have achieved the most desirable outcome.
Bob Ringler voluntarily stopped leading trips to the site and is no longer
providing directions to the site. He should be supported for making that
difficult decision, especially given the large number of birders that want
to see this species. Bob should not have to feel like a hypocrite for
changing his position as the season has progressed. He is acting to
conserve the resource and possibly improve its situation in Maryland. Early
on he managed the situation very well and provided an opportunity for a
number of individuals to view the owls when they were in that gray area
where they were more likely to be wintering individuals. We’ve now moved
into the breeding season for Long-eared Owls. I’m confident that all of
those who observed the pair of Long-eared Owls are grateful to Bob for his
efforts. Please support his decision to stop leading trips to the site and
encourage others to wait for a future opportunity to see a wintering
Long-eared Owl where it is not a conservation concern. This is a very hard
thing to do and birders should not pressure folks with “well you went to see
it”, or “everyone has gone to see it”. Time has passed, the season is
changing and we all now know more than we did a few weeks ago. It is time
for birders to unite and encourage everyone to “do the right thing,” as hard
as that may personally be, and leave the owls alone.
I agree with George’s post and am posting this to reinforce it. The
Long-eared Owls at Morgan Run are now a conservation issue. Leaving them be
is a very good example of think globally and act locally. PLEASE put your
own needs to see or list a species second to a strong conservation ethic.
If we want to see Long-eared Owls return as breeders in the Piedmont of
Maryland, we need to give them an opportunity to breed here. Pair bonding
and nest initiation is the time of year when birds are considered most
sensitive to disturbance and most likely to interrupt breeding because of
disturbance. If everything is not “right” it makes much more evolutionary
sense for them to move and find a location where things are “right” and they
have the best chance of a successful nesting.
As Central Region Ecologist for the Maryland Natural Heritage Program, and
yes Morgan Run is in the DNR’s Central Region, I ask you to please leave
this pair of owls alone during this critical time of year. Put your
conservation and good birding ethics ahead of your personal desire or need
to see the species. Give the birding community in Maryland an example of
acting with a conservation consciousness that will be viewed as a good
example of learning and applying what we learn for the good of the resource.
As a wildlife ecologist and conservationist I personally always strive to
put the welfare of the birds first and I hope all birders do the same.
Thanks for reading this long post and, with an open mind, considering it. I
hope the Long-eared Owls do nest at Morgan run and that they successfully
add a few young to the population.
Best regards to all.
David F. Brinker
Central Region Ecologist
Natural Heritage Program
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
1200 Frederick Rd.
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
E-mail:
or
ph. 410-744-8939 (office)
P.S. Although I know approximately where they are and expect that I could
find them without great difficulty, I have not gone out to see the owls! To
document a breeding record we only need a single, careful, quiet observer
making infrequent checks. That individual should be Bob Ringler and not
multiple individuals or groups of birders.
----- Original Message -----
From: "George M. Jett" <>
To: <>
Sent: March 18, 2007 17:55
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] LEOW 03/18/07
> Folks
>
> I wished people would not report any findings on the listserve about the
> LEOWs. These animals are getting very close to egg dates, and if they
> want to breed here reporting your findings are not helping that process.
> Let their memory fade. Please give them space.
>
> There is a pair, there is good habitat, there is food, and the more we
> birders go to see them, the more pressure we are putting on these animals.
> They have nested not that far north of the Carroll County. It is not
> unreasonable to think they might be considering nesting here this year.
>
> Why leave them alone you may wonder. Last week while checking one of my
> barn owl boxes I found one egg. This egg is early by four days if you
> used the Yellowbook as a guide. The Yellowbook lists April 3 as the egg
> date for LEOWs. Also last week Flicker, Pileated, Hairy, and Red-bellied
> Woodpecker were on territory earlier then atlas safe dates. Brown
> Thrasher and Field Sparrow were also already on territory. It may be
> still cold for you, but the birds are starting to set up territory, lay
> eggs, and need there space.
>
> Even if you don't think your visit is impacting this pair, please do not
> report your findings so less birders feel the need to go and see them.
> Remember we drove the Swainson's Warbler from the state by continued
> pressure to add them to our lists. Please stay away from these birds. If
> you can't, don't report what you saw. Please put birding ethics ahead of
> birding lists.
>
> George
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joseph Chronowski" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2007 4:11 PM
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] LEOW 03/18/07
>
>
>> With the grateful assistance of Bob Ringler, my wife and I successfully
>> viewed the LEOW this morning in its regular location. I must say that
>> with
>> the bird being so camouflaged in its roost and being unfamiliar with
>> Morgan
>> Run NEA, I would have never been able to find the bird on my own.
>>
>> Also seen at Morgan Run today were Fox Sparrow and American Tree Sparrow,
>> amoung the other regulars.
>>
>> Thanks again Bob for such a pleasant experience!
>>
>> Joe and Michelle Chronowski
>> Harford County, MD
>>
> |