BCEC: NOCTURNAL OWL MONITORING
If you are a resident of Bragg Creek, you likely know that this area is home to a variety of owls; shaping the experience of all those who live amongst them. Perhaps you have been one of the lucky ones who has spotted a majestic Great Gray Owl hunting from a roadside perch. Or maybe you have spotted the tiny Northern Saw- whet Owl, which can sometimes surprise us with their delightful presence in our yards or near our homes. And let’s not forget about the more elusive Barred Owl (cover photo) with jet black eyes. This is Alberta’s only owl with dark eyes, and their call of “who cooks for you!” is sure to make you smile.
Bragg Creek is home to 9 species of breeding owls. These owls include: Great-horned Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Barred Owl, Great Gray Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Boreal Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl. But studying owls is somewhat of a challenge, as their presence is not consistently captured with other wildlife survey protocols.
In an effort to monitor owls in Alberta, standardized owl monitoring protocols were implemented in 1995, allowing for call playback surveys to provide valuable information on our feathered friends. Since then, “owl prowls” have been conducted during the owl breeding season (one early season in March and one late season in April), to increase our awareness of the abundance, distribution, population trends, and habitat associations of owls across our province. Recently, the BCEC Bird Club conducted round one of its annual “owl prowl” in west Bragg Creek, following owl survey protocols as outlined in the supporting document: Guidelines for Nocturnal Owl Monitoring in North America. Excited members of BCEC set out after sunset and surveyed 10 survey points, while broadcasting a sequence of recorded owl calls from a speaker, to aim at eliciting responses from nearby owls.
Although no owls were detected on round one of this survey, it doesn’t mean that owls weren’t present. Owls will call to defend territories as well as to attract or communicate with nearby mates. However, it is important to note that they don’t always respond. These surveys are considered “presence/not detected”, rather than “presence/absence”. Night two of this year’s owl survey is set to take place one evening in April.
More recently in the world of wildlife research, Auditory Recording Units (ARUs) have been implemented to capture the presence of wildlife species in various habitats, including owls. The addition of ARUs to aid in sampling efforts for owls as well as songbirds and amphibians would be invaluable! Therefore, BCEC is hard at work submitting grant proposals to obtain some of these units for the purposes of bird and wildlife conservation in the Bragg Creek area. Until then, we will “owl prowl” every owl breeding season, in the hopes of hearing owls in response!
BCEC Bird Club meets monthly to explore the fascinating world of birds in our beloved foothills. Interested in birds? Come join us! Visit www.braggcreekenvironmentalcoalition.ca for more info.
In the meantime, you can definitely contribute by submitting owl sightings (and hearings!) to eBird. If you aren’t already signed up, visit www.eBird.org/ home to find out more.
