[ogopogo]

in one area of Victoria, the long term GHOW pair is loudly establishing their territory. In the past 30 days, they killed a RTHA in a violent struggle leaving only a pile of tail feathers the next morning, the Barred Owl in the same area was found wounded (not sure of the cause), picked up by Wild Arc and died.
A rare Barn Owl passed through as well.
The area is home to COHA, RTHA, SSHA, a pair of Eagles and on occasion a pair of Peregrine Falcons.

[ogopogo]

Beacon Hill Park continues to provide surprises. A dog walker told me a Barn Owl was under the cedar trees by the Bandstand at 4pm during a foggy night about 3 weeks ago. It moved on. There are regular sightings of Barred and GHOW and even a Short-eared last year. If you're going for a walk through the Park, take your camera and check this area plus the field by the Zoo and the SE Woods by the totem.

[ogopogo]

Royal Oak GHOW's probably have owlets in the nest right now (in 2013 the PFC GHOW's laid 3 eggs Jan 17, the owlets were born Feb 13 & 14) although I didn't see them yesterday. A local showed me a perch tree & the hunting tree where a neighbour was attacked by the male GHOW this week after dark on the staircase that joins Lochside Trail.

[stevej]

What are the meanings of all the unnecessary abbreviations and why use them?

[ogopogo]

google bird acronyms and find out

[keithric]

What are the meanings of all the unnecessary abbreviations and why use them?

I don't think they're unnecessary. They're easy to learn and convenient to use. Here's a link to abbr's for North American birds:
http://www.wec.ufl.edu/birds/SurveyDocs ... s_list.pdf
Bookmark it for quick access.... Hope you find it helpful.

[ogopogo]

March 1-there are now 2 Barred Owls in the SE Woods of Beacon Hill Park. This is the usual courting time for Barred. Has young Missy (10 mo) got a boyfriend (Eddie)? They were hooting to each other at 12:30pm. I saw them both and got photos & video. From what I've read, first year males occasionally conceive but first year females can't have owlets. So, would they match up the first year anyways? [The only other possibility is that the original adult pair have returned.] Missy's brother, Junior, is about 1/2 mile away in another spot and he's still there.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogopogonaturephotography/

[birdergirl]

Thanks nice to hear your updates I haven't been in beacon hill since October so its nice to hear what's going on. I enjoyed looking at the owls on your flicker acct.

Cheers

[ogopogo]

GHOWs on the nest. I've been tracking 5 pair of Horned but no luck actually finding the nests and owlets yet. Spoke to a lady at Rithet's Bog today and a Horned passed through her backyard last night. She lives up on a hill 2 km away, so might check out her area soon. That may be the Royal Oak pair which had been seen in a tree on Emily Carr Drive in Feb. I checked out the paths where they have hunted but haven't been seen for 2 weeks. The Cedar Hill/King's Pond one was spotted Feb 14 at Maplewood & Derby (which is close to the Golf Course). Have checked out that area twice and nothing. The Rockland female I saw Jan 26. Dog-walkers & locals see one periodically. PFC pair are still hunting Colquitz Creek by the brown bridge at night, say the neighbours. Sooke pair in my friend's back 40 has been heard but nest not spotted yet. I think they are pretty clever choosing nest locations. Good luck; they are elusive!

[ogopogo]

was looking for owls today and heard a very persistent hummingbird. was surprised to find a GHOW (4:30 pm)
have been told where some GHOW owlets are, so will try to find them Monday.

IMG_3645GHOW1 by ogopogocheryl, on Flickr

[ogopogo]

third try. no luck on the Beaver Lake search. if you go out there, wear rubber boots. those back trails are for horses; truly a quagmire. lots of other things to see: eagle pair nesting on the creek, COHA sounding in the woods, hawks overhead, swooping Swallows. saw 50 American Coots by the Rowing Centre on Elk Lake last week feeding on the edge. today, only one pair of Wood Ducks on Beaver Lake.
the Barred Owls are mating now & have their owlets around the last week in April (in Victoria). In some cases, they have moved to where their mates are and GHOW have replaced them temporarily if it's a good hunting area. We were so spoiled with the PFC GHOW owlets being front and centre last year; I am determined to find some this year. Need to go out earlier or later. This one is a constant lately.

IMG_4156GHOW by ogopogocheryl, on Flickr

[birdergirl]

Nice shot of the owl

[Sherms]

Great update. I've checked out past nesting sites for GHO at Beaver Lake and it looks pretty abandoned for the past little while. Hope they found a better nest.

Sherman

[ogopogo]

the couple I met on Rockland Ave said "Have you seen the Horned Owls' nest out at Beaver Lake?" Her directions were: park at the Rowing Club, follow the path south across the field, take the first right and look for a group of photographers pointing their cameras in the air (sounded like a sure thing to me). She said the nest is at 30 feet and there is a little pond (could have been Spring run-off pond). Now, they had a big dog and were pushing a baby carriage, so I assumed they stuck to the main path and the photographers were visible to them from the path. I've been out 3 times and taken every path to the right all the way from Elk Lake to Beaver Lake with no luck and have seen no GHOW nor any photographers. A local said he has heard GHOW early evening in that general area, so good luck to anyone who wants to look. (and wear rubber boots; it's a mucky mess!)

[hawkman]

That's a nest site that was used by GHOW off and on for over 20 years.The stump got ruined though by a winter storm after big branch falling into it about 3 or 4 years ago.Its in the exact spot they are describing.It doesn't sound like a recent sighting.