It absolutely stuns me that anyone would gather a group in a "field
walk" in attempt to flush the burrowing owl.

Whether the owl was there or not, it had been well seen from certain
venues and if it wanted to be seen, probably could have been seen.  As
birders, it seems to me that resource protection, not "another notch on
our pistol handle" should be our first aim.  Did anyone think that
tramping through a field with 20 people might PERMANENTLY flush the bird?

If there were a black rail at Magee Marsh would a "field walk" be
organized to flush the bird? Or are the ethics different because this is
on private property?  What about the well-being of the bird?  What in
the world happened to birding ethics?

Good grief.

Kindly flame me off-list, This doesn't need to generate a firestorm.


Bob Hinkle
Chief Naturalist, Cleveland Metroparks




_________________________________________

Robb Clifford wrote:
> As of 4pm this afternoon, the owl has NOT been seen.
>
> Mandy Martin (another DCP Naturalist) and I headed out there at 3pm and
> organized a "field walk" that included many of the 15-20 people on
> site (this
> was OK'd by the farmer & land owner).  We wanted to try to determine
> if the
> owl was even present anymore.  We hiked a large portion of the area where
> the owl had been seen yesterday and were unable to flush it.  It appears
> that the owl is staying away from the known location (for now at least).
>
> There have been numerous people there off and on since VERY early this
> morning and if the owl is still in the area, this seems to be enough
> to keep
> it from coming back... that, or the owl decided to leave last night,
> since
> people there early this morning were unable to spot it.  Given the
> fact that
> this area sees only limited traffic (a vehicle maybe every 15min) and
> very
> little human interaction, the sudden influx of this many people could
> very
> well cause the owl second thoughts upon returning to his "burrow".
> There is
> also the possibility that there is a second site that he has been
> using off
> and on throughout the past week and this is where he is... basically, we
> have no idea =)
>
> At this time, I would NOT recommend anyone traveling out to the site.
>  Especially if you have a long drive.
>
> I will check the site upon returning to work tomorrow and throughout
> the day
> if need be and will keep everyone posted.
>
> Thanks to all who tried to spot him and who helped with the 'field walk'.
>
> --
> Robb Clifford
> - Naturalist -
>
> Darke County Parks
> www.darkecountyparks.org
>
> "We need another and a wiser, and perhaps a more mystical concept of
> animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice,
> man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his
> knowledge
> and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in
> distortion. We
> patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having
> taken a form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err.
> For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more
> complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with
> extensions
> of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall
> never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are
> other
> nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow
> prisoners
> of the splendor and travail of the earth."
> -Outermost House by Henry Beston-
>
>
>


Bill Whan wrote:
> I've been talking with Troy Shively, who was at the site of the reported
> burrowing owl this morning sometime after 7 am. As of now, it has not
> been seen by him or several other observers. Local folks say it
> repeatedly flushes from its culvert spot when cars pass, then returns.
> The culverts are easy to survey, and were all empty this morning. Locals
> also say 11 am--for some reason--has been the most reliable time to find
> this bird, so Troy will be sticking around for a while; a Cincinnati
> birder is on the spot now as well, and will let us know if it's found.
> This bird seems unusually spooky, so quiet and stealth seem called for.
> Needless to say, observers should obey requests they NOT trespass into
> agricultural fields here.
>        If accepted, this would be Ohio's fourth record of this species. A
> specimen exists at BGSU of one collected in 1962 in Wood Co, and the
> most recent record came from Ottawa Co in 1981, also from a culvert,
> which apparently relieved the bird from the necessity to do any actual
> burrowing. I'll be around today and will pass along any news I hear.
> Just got a call from Ben Warner, who should be on site in a couple of
> hours, and will call if any results.
> Bill Whan
> Columbus
>
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