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Boreal Owl in the Uinta Mountains in Wasatch County, Utah
October 3, 2020
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Let the Utah Boreal Hunt Begin
Hello, friends and nature lovers! A little over two years ago I presented myself with a "lifer" choice that would either have me driving two-plus hours to the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah or three-plus hours to parts of the Colorado Plateau near Moab, Utah. "Lifer" is how birders and herpers (reptile and amphibian seekers) refer to a species observed for the first time. In the Uintas I would look for my first-ever Utah Boreal Owl, a rare species for our state. In the Moab area I would go looking for Eastern Collared Lizards. It was mid-summer so it was kind of a choice between the cooler temps of our mountains or the warmer temps of the desert. Reptiles had captured my attention at that time so I chose the desert. I went and had a wonderful time sleeping under the stars and finding and photographing the lizard the following day. I've shared that experience in a previous post found at this link.
Two weeks ago my wife and I did a trip to Yellowstone National Park. Prior to that trip the two-year-old Boreal Owl itch returned so I decided to scratch it by adding an hour or two of owling to the trip. I would have loved spending more time owling during our evenings, but it was a trip for "us" so my birding interests were barely on the radar for by non-birding spouse. Limited time required me to be efficient so I studied Google Maps before the trip and paid close attention to habitat and location as we drove into the area.
After some downtime at the hotel on our last night of the trip I received the "okay" to venture into the dark for owls. I drove to a dense pine forest with sporadic meadows outside of West Yellowstone. As an FYI, I drove to that location because I had planned to play calls to locate a bird and national parks prohibit the use of recorded calls to attracts birds. The Proper Use of Playback in Birding by David Sibley provides guidelines for using calls to attract birds.
It was quiet that evening on the road I chose, not a single vehicle drove in my direction. I played a Boreal Owl song for about twenty seconds and then listened and waited for a few minutes. With no evidence of an owl being present I tried the process a couple more times. I did this at several stops without getting any indication of an owl's presence. I used my light to scan the trees around me with no success. I drove to what would be my final stop and was again met with utter silence. I gave the surrounding trees one last look before getting back into the car and that's when this little creature appeared in my view. It was perched in a tree about forty feet away.
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Boreal Owl near West Yellowstone, Montana
September 29, 2020 |
That little owl, standing about 9-10" tall, depending on whether it was male or female (males being smaller), had come to see who was calling without ever making a sound. It was one of the "silent observers" as I call them.
It was an amazing experience, for which I was incredibly grateful. I gave a verbal thank-you to the owl before departing. It was my second Boreal Owl ever and the first one that I was able to find on my own.
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Boreal Owl Near West Yellowstone, Montana
September 29, 2020 |
Time to Find a Utah Boreal Owl
The success of my first Boreal hunt propelled me to develop a plan for finding my first Boreal Owl in Utah. Prior to leaving for Yellowstone I talked with a friend who had encountered a Boreal Owl in a remote location of the Uinta Mountains at the end of August. I wanted to get a description of habitat without knowing the specific location. I don't ask other birders or photographers for specific locations of the rare species they discover for two reasons. First and foremost, it avoids putting them in an awkward position when they are uncomfortable with having to say no. Secondly, I actually enjoy the process of learning and discovering things on my own as much as possible. I find great satisfaction and joy in the process of learning, exploring, and discovering for myself what nature has to offer. Capturing images as a result of that process often provides nice memorials for those experiences so I do try to get quality images when possible.
Preparation
To prepare for my Utah search I reviewed the handful of eBird reports of Boreal Owl sightings in the Uinta Mountains, spoke with a biologist who has some experience with the species and studied range maps, habitat, and recordings of their vocalizations online. Some range maps showed a thin slice of the range passing through the Uinta Mountains and others showed the Boreal Owl range skirting around Utah from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado up to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The Uinta Mountains are considered to be on the fringe of the normal range so it began to feel like I might be searching for a needle in a haystack, but that just made the adventure all the more enticing. For additional intelligence I spoke with a couple of local birders who had recently returned from unsuccessful searches in the Uinta Mountains. They generously provided information regarding the terrain that I would need to traverse in the search I was planning. High clearance, durable all-terrain tires, solid suspension, and 4WD would be required. I heard in my mind, "Don't try this at home, kids!" Neither a sedan nor even a small SUV with highway tires would be well suited for such an endeavor. The location would not be a good place for a breakdown, nor to simply get stuck in a rut, because much of the area is outside of phone service. With all that information I was ready to begin my search and try to answer my question about how common or rare the species really is in the Uinta Mountains.
Success in the Uinta Mountains!
I set out on my first Utah Boreal Owl hunt October 3rd, 2020. I made it to my starting point during daylight to explore some of the more remote and risky routes in the area. That was a good thing because I lost Verizon service on my phone and was unable to continue viewing the targeted spots I had marked on a personal Google Map. It didn't take long to realize that the roads were rougher than all previous routes I'd taken for owls in other remote mountain locations. I saw lots of great spots to check, however, as I drove deeper into the area. I decided to turn around at one point because I felt like I was in a small boat being tossed to and fro on a roaring sea as I was bounced and tilted side to side from boulder to rut while advancing at a snail's pace. I had already passed through good habitat and it seemed unnecessary to risk the additional wear and tear on my Tacoma.
I stopped as the sun was setting to enjoy the scenery. It was deathly silent until a Northern Pygmy Owl called from a distant perch and some Mountain Chickadees came in to check me out as I mimicked the call of the Pygmy-owl.
Darkness increased and signaled the time to begin the real hunt for my first Utah Boreal Owl. I don't know if I got super lucky or if there are more Boreal Owls than we think, but I was able to find my first one after two stops and within seconds of attempting to call for one. My heart pumped with excitement as I quickly fired off a few fames to document the encounter. I could not believe that the moment had arrived so early in my search because I had prepared myself to return home without seeing one. To my delight, the bird was accommodating and allowed me to capture better images and a brief recording of one of its vocalizations.
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Boreal Owl in the Uinta Mountains in Wasatch County, Utah
October 3, 2020 |
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Boreal Owl in the Uinta Mountains in Wasatch County, Utah
October 3, 2020 |
Once again, I expressed gratitude to the owl before parting. I could have called it a night early and headed home with a great feeling of achievement, but I was then more curious than ever to see how easy or challenging it would be to find another owl. Little did I know that I would choose to stop in a subsequent location that produced two Boreal Owls. They appeared to be a pair, a smaller one presumed to be the male and a larger one appearing to be the female.
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Boreal Owl in the Uinta Mountains in Wasatch County, Utah
October 3, 2020 |
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Boreal Owl in the Uinta Mountains in Wasatch County, Utah
October 3, 2020 |
These two birds vocalized what struck me as contact calls intended to communicate each other's location. The male issued a soft but high-pitched squeak or hiss and the female responded with a slightly louder "wert" call. Here is a link to the recording of the
Boreal Owl Pair Calling. The audio file is stored on my Google Drive so if you have the Google Drive app it will probably play well for you. It may help to turn up your volume when you listen to the recording. And, depending on your device, you be required to download the file to hear the soft calls.
As I was photographing one of the owls it leaned forward and rotated its head side to side a couple of times before expelling a pellet, which it then grasped and held in a talon.
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Boreal Owl Casting a Pellet
Uinta Mountains in Wasatch County, Utah
October 3, 2020 |
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Boreal Owl With a Pellet in the Uinta Mountains in Wasatch County, Utah
October 3, 2020 |
The owl eventually let the pellet fall to the ground and then I retrieved it before leaving the scene because I wanted to take it home, dry it out, and inspect its contents. I saw it as a way to learn a little bit more about the owl I had observed. I'll publish the results of that inspection in a future post.
Needless to say, I was beyond elated with the surprising results of my first Utah Boreal Owl hunt. It was a Boreal Owl bonanza beyond any expectation. I am incredibly grateful for seeing three owls, recording a calling pair, and watching one of them cast a pellet, which became a parting gift of sorts.
Thank you for visiting my blog and sticking with me through this long post. I hope you enjoyed it and learned something new. May you have safe and excellent encounters as you venture into nature.
Additional resources to learn more about Boreal Owls:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Boreal_Owl
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/boreal-owl
