Boreal Study Ends
Not much, but maybe....by Dan Hartman
April 15, 2021
Well, my boreal owl survey routinely lasts March 1st thru April 15th. So the time has come to call it quits.I normally would go out 25 nights or so, but this year I only ventured out 15 times. My sprained ankle and windy conditions cost me some nights, but to be honest, apathy was the biggest reason. I mean it was hard to get excited when met with silence night after night.
Anyway, April 3rd was quiet. But on April 6th I got my first prolong song at the 2015 nest site. This means he's found a female. That's the first exciting sound of the season, and believe me I needed that!
Then just up the road a mile, another boreal calling.
But that was it for the night. Two calls.
On April 7th Cindy and I heard a boreal singing near my 2010 nest site. But that was it for the night.
April 9th was quiet. On April 12th we heard a warning call from below the 2015 nest area.
That's a good thing. In theory the male was warning the female who is in the nesting cavity.
That was all we heard tht night and it's been windy every night since.
Like the saying goes, you can't beat a dead horse. So I guess that's that.
In the following weeks, we'll probably venture out on perfect nights, but I'm not expecting much. Also, I'll want to keep an eye on the 2015 nest site.
So ends Boreal Study Year twelve. Six calls total.
