Joe and all,
Please do not feed owls.
Feeding owls is a human thing, not an owl thing. This human thing is
probably harmless to Snowy Owl populations, today, but, ask yourself, what
if our collective empathy, sympathy, compassion and energy manifest in
widespread intensive efforts to "save" owls by feeding owls, as Joe has
suggested? Imagine the flurry of new pages, websites, and organizations
encouraging this practice? Lots of owls will be fed, this year and forward.
Lots of well-meaning people will feel good. Will owls benefit?
Please grasp the moment, redirect the emotion you feel toward that young owl
perched in that vast corn field to owls' habitats everywhere. There, there
you can make a difference!
The arctic will periodically regurgitate large surpluses of owls no matter
what we do. Arctic ecosystems are boom and bust systems characterized by
periodic, fairly cyclic, populations swings. The beautiful simplicity of
arctic systems should not be complicated by feeding predators filling a
niche near the top of the arctic food-chain. Painfully, let nature take its
course.
Lastly, carefully read the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. You may reconsider
approaching owls to feed them, and you may reconsider that Blue Jay feather
dangling from your rear view mirror.
Please support habitat conservation.
Tom Bain
Bird Conservation Chair
Ohio Ornithological Society
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joe
Monahan
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2013 2:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Feeding Snowy Owls Update
Out of curiosity I tallied up the number of positive / supportive comments
and emails I received about the "feeding snowies" issue. I'm happy to say
that while the number of negative comments numbered six, the positive
comments numbered 17!
This is a combined total from both the Ohio and PA listservs.
I hope together we have chipped away at least a little at the dominant, and
I think unsupported assertion that the careful feeding of snowy owls is
somehow detrimental to the species. There are caveats and guidelines to keep
in mind, as with all things. But overall, there is much more good than harm
that can come from this.
So grab a pocketful of mice and head out to feed your local snowy owl this
weekend! I would be happy to post some pics of your outing / effort if you
care to share!
Thanks everyone!
Feeding Snowy Owls Post: http://feedingowls.blogspot.com
Joe Monahan
Boone County, IA
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Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
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