Good morning Tn-birders…
There has been much excitement, questions and activity to visit the Burrowing
Owl in Todd County, KY.
Below is an email from the KTOS listserv from this morning with some
information provided by Brainard Palmer-Ball of Lousiville.
Cheers!
<")
( \
/ |` Cyndi Routledge
Southeastern Avian Research
www.southeasternavianresearch.org
From: <birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of <brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: <brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sunday, March 1, 2020 at 9:18 AM
To: BIRDKY <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [birdky] Burrowing Owl subspecies ....
There has been some discussion around the origin of the Burrowing Owl. There
are numerous subspecies distributed across North and Central America. There are
two in the US, one in peninsular Florida that is largely sedentary and another
widely distributed across the western part of the country.
Jamie Baker got photos of the owl last Sunday that confirm it as the western
subspecies, A. c. hypugaea. He got a shot of the bird stretching a wing that
clearly shows unspotted underwing coverts. He also has a nice, clear shot of
the birds legs that show feathering well down on the tarsi, another character
of the western race. These are the two main characters (other than size
difference) noted by Pyle.
Regarding age and sex of the bird ... I've passed pics along to Peter Pyle for
an age determination, but having to judge from field photos may not be
possible. Sexes are similar other than size and plumage wear that results from
different roles during the breeding season. Otherwise you'd have to have
in-hand examination during the breeding season, I think.
There has also been some talk (especially on the interent) about the health and
fate of the bird by those who are apparently totally unfamiliar with vagrancy
and life history of birds in general is my guess.
Regarding the bird's health ... *nothing* about its behavior has suggested that
it is not fine.These guys are somewhat "tame" wherever they occur and like
other raptors they likely habituate to things occurring around them. One of
their defensive strategies is blending in, which this bird does well. They also
are tied to their "burrows" so they don't stray too far. When we saw it fly
from a passing car last Sunday, quite naturally it did not appear as at ease
away from its "safe place" and soon returned right back to it. Also being a
small raptor vulnerable to larger diurnal raptor predation, they may not be
comfortable flying far (especially during daylight), instead preferring to
remain as inconspicuous as possible. All of this explains its overall "tame"
behavior.
The bird has had a relatively mild winter to survive, so there is no reason to
suspect that it is not fine. A collision with a car is always going to be a
possibility, but the spots it stands are out of the path of cars going both
ways. Moreover, when it does fly, it seems like it is flying away from the
roadway.
Regarding its fate ... like all vagrants that end up somewhere that they can
easily survive (pelagic hurricane waifs being the most obvious general
exception to that rule), this bird is likely to return to near its point of
origin. Those who read the related post from Georgia know that "Charlie"
actually has come back for a second and third winter. Our bird probably
migrated following the breeding season and simply ended up here in KY, but it
will likely just migrate back. Georgia Charlie lingered to mid-May last year
and returned in late October.
So please help debunk any of these notions if you read about them on the
internet ... any talk of worrying about the health of the bird or even more
remarkably of catching it to take it back home is originating from the
uninformed ... remind us of anyone else these days . . . :-(
bpb, Louisville
================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS============= When posting on BIRDKY,
please close posts with your first and last name and your address (city or
county). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post on BIRDKY,
send e-mail to: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * Visit the KOS website at http://www.birdky.org * * * * * * * * * * * ;
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the KOS Photo Page to view photos of birds
recently sighted in Kentucky:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/kentucky_ornithological_society/pool * * * * * * * ;
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line. * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison.
E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx
