An Owl’s Story

by Earthwatcher, posted in Apharetta, Big Creek Greenway, Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, California, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, Photography, raptor, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography

Photograph of a Spotted Owl perched on the branch of a Coastal Redwood Tree in Northern California. The owl has very light gray breast. The remainder is gray with white spots on its back and some white spots on its head.
Spotted Owl on Coastal Redwood
Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County, California, USA; SEP 2013

I’m sharing these pictures because of an interesting relationship.  

I took the image of the Spotted Owl about 9 years ago. I believe it is especially poignant because the owl is on a Coastal Redwood.

This Owl was placed on the endangered species act in 1990 because of habitat loss. It lives in old growth forests like the coastal redwoods of California and Oregon. It sparked a battle between conservationists and the US Government against Loggers who wanted the right to log old growth forests. The Spotted Owl and its habitat won the battle. However, the Spotted Owl may be losing the battle; its numbers have not grown since it was placed on the endangered species list. One possible culprit is the Barred Owl; is encroaching on the Spotted Owl’s habitat and driving it out.

Notice how similarly they look.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution.

Photograph of a Barred Owl perched on a tree branch with green and gold leaves in the background. The owl has a very light gray breast with some darker gray feathers intermixed. It has a band of feathers between its head and branch that give the appearance of wearing a dark gray and light gray stipes.
Barred Owl
Big Creek Greenway, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA; OCT 2022

One thought on “An Owl’s Story”

  1. It’s been a growing problem where invasive species wipe out a native species. I just read that an invasive species, alewives, not normally in lake Michigan were overtaking the lake. The game and fish department introduced Chinook salmon that clearly don’t usually survive in a lake, to naturally reduce the alewives which they have and the salmon are kept in check by allowing fishing of the salmon. I hope a solution can be found for the spotted owl before it’s too late.

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