Hello Everyone,
The Christmas Bird Count season is upon us with some counts starting this
coming Friday, December 14th. Believe it or not, this flurry of birding
activity could contribute some very valuable data to the Ohio Breeding Bird
Atlas II. As many of you know, the Great Horned Owl is the earliest nesting
species in the state of Ohio. In fact, the first eggs for this owl
typically are laid by late January. Great Horned Owls use vocalizations to
maintain territories and there is some evidence that non-territorial birds
rarely vocalize. What does this mean for all you CBC owlers out
there? ….your CBC owling efforts directly relate to the Ohio Breeding Bird
Atlas II!
If you look at the current map of Great Horned Owl observations for OBBA2
(click here<http://bird.atlasing.org/Atlas/OH/Main?cmd=stateSummary&theme=species&edition=current&species=grhowl&species=Go>or
see web link at bottom of email), you'll see that current records for
the
species are sparsely distributed. The CBC can certainly change that! There
are 80+ count circles in Ohio and they're pretty evenly distributed across
the state. Ned Keller's CBC report in The Ohio Cardinal from last year
reveals that 46 count circles reported this owl species! I encourage
everyone who actively listens for owls during CBCs to consider taking notes
on where they encounter Great Horned Owls so that the data can be
incorporated into Ohio's breeding bird atlas. Here are a few steps to help
you go about incorporating Great Horned Owl records into the Ohio Breeding
Bird Atlas:
#1 Territorial behavior is key to contributing Great Horned Owl records to
the Atlas. This owl is highly territorial and simply detecting a Great
Horned vocalizing during this time of year allows you to add a 'T1' code to
the appropriate Atlas block of detection. The Birds of North America
account says "individual [Great Horned Owls] prevented from establishing a
territory live a silent existence as floaters." This bit of information
rules out visual observations of flushed or perched birds during a CBC as
Atlas data. The key is to keep your ears open!
#2 Keep notes on what you hear. That classic deep-toned hooting of a Great
Horned Owl with significant "carrying power" constitutes direct territorial
behavior. Typically males give this call and pairs often engage in
synchronized territorial advertisement, often referred to as "duetting." An
example of duetting can be heard on track #20 of the recently released "Owl
Sounds" CD put out by the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Duetting takes place
1-2 months before the first egg is laid so again, this is prime time to
detect this vocal array of territorial advertisement.
#3 If you plan on doing some owling for a CBC, we recommend a listening
period of 5-7 minutes before using tape playbacks . If birds are
advertising their presence without provocation from tape playback, you can
easily apply a "T1" breeding code (Probable) to your observation. Use
personal judgment about territoriality for owls responding to tape playback.
#4 If you have a territorial Great Horned Owl, what additional information
should you record?...Location! In my experience with CBC owling, I usually
know beforehand where I'll be listening for owls. If so, noting the nearest
road intersection will most likely lead you to the correct Atlas block
assignment. If you're interested in planning this out before you do your
CBC, let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you figure out the block
ID of your owling spots. You can also use a variety of block finding tools
at the Atlas website (www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/). Or, just email your
observations and location info to me and I'll submit everything for you.
Good Christmas Counting Everyone! And thanks in advance to everyone for
helping to put nesting Great Horned Owls on the map!
Aaron Boone
Great Horned Owl Atlas Map Link:
http://bird.atlasing.org/Atlas/OH/Main?cmd=stateSummary&theme=species&edition=current&species=grhowl&species=Go
--
Aaron Boone
Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II
School of Environment & Natural Resources
The Ohio State University
210 Kottman Hall
2021 Coffey Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1085
614.247.6458 (office)
www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/
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