Seeing Northern Spotted Owls and the conclusion to my North American Owl Big Year!

This weekend Ilya and I went hiking in the mountains of Washington and we were blessed to see 3 Northern Spotted Owls. These owls are endangered. In BC they are basically extirpated with less than a dozen left in the wild. In Washington the species is not doing well and there are about 200 birds left in the state.
Every time I see one I feel truly blessed to be in their presence. I have never seen a more curious and beautiful creature. They climb up and down the tree branches like parrots. All 3 of them flew in separately to us over the  2 days we were present. We found one baby the first day and no other owls. Dead tired we returned to the same spot and hiked up a tough incline where we found mom. The female flew within arms length and stayed with us the whole time, while we sat beneath her and at times at eye level. It was a magical experience in a most peaceful setting far away from any people and cell service. On the way down the mountain we were greeted by not one 1 baby but 2 baby Northern Spotted Owls bobbing their heads at us. We watched beautiful stars at night and had other owls during our hiking trip including Northern Saw-whets, Boreal and Barred Owls.
The Barred Owls are really taking over the territory of the endangered Northern Spotted Owl but we can't blame them. We are the ones who built the path from the East to the West to bring them here. One night we heard several Barred Owl males sparring.
I will never forget the special experience of being in the presence of these Spotted Owls. It was amazing to have them fly to me and feel the connection with these gorgeous creatures.
This event was made even more special as I left the best owl for last. I never set out for this to happen but due to circumstances and my travels I was able to see all 19 North American Owls in 12 months. I started in Sept 2016 and finished in August 2017.
I do not give out owl locations (especially for the endangered Spotted Owl) but I will list in which state or province I saw each owl.
Each owl was actually seen and not just heard:

Burrowing Owl (WA, AZ, BC, TX)
Barred Owl (WA, TX, BC)
Boreal Owl (AK, BC, WA)
Northern Spotted Owl (WA)
Whiskered Screech-Owl (AZ)
Elf Owl (AZ, TX)
Snowy Owl (BC)
Western Screech-Owl (BC, AZ)
Eastern Screech-Owl (TX)
Northern Hawk-Owl (BC)
Northern Pygmy-Owl (BC)
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (TX)
Short-eared Owl (AK, BC, WA)
Barn Owl (BC, WA)
Flammulated Owl (BC)
Great Horned Owl (BC, WA, TX)
Great Gray Owl (BC)
Northern Saw-whet Owl (BC, WA)
Long Eared Owl (BC, WA)

It was pretty cool to see all these beautiful owls in 12 months! Each owl encounter was unique and special like being granted full clear views of an accommodating Flammulated Owl, having the unique endangered Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl tooting at me and seeing a family of stoic Great Gray Owls staring back at me to encountering a Hawk-Owl hunting in the strangest place.
However, the most magical of all the experiences was with the Spotted Owls of course. The pictures speak for themselves but nothing can capture the magic of actually being there. The BC Government mismanaged the Spotted Owls and logging of the old growth forests which led to their demise (the captive breeding program unfortunately has not, nor can it bring this owl back in the province). However even though WA has done a much better job than BC, each year in WA the Barred Owls continue to push them out. They are "ghosts of the forests" that I hope when I'm old and grey will keep seeing but realistically I know one day soon all I may have of these spotted owls are pictures. I hope that we don't lose them and keep conserving every inch of old growth forest that we left so that we can keep them around forever.
The old growth forests are so vital to the Northern Spotted Owls because they can't live in just any forest. They prefer to eat Northern flying squirrels and wood rats, and flying squirrels prefer the high canopy of old growth forests. These owls live for about 15 years.
Seeing the juveniles was really special because these owls do not reproduce every year and it's a struggle for their young to survive but these two babies were nice and plump and well fed. Nice to see nesting success with this species, it brings hope.

To listen to a recording I made of a wild Northern Spotted Owl click HERE
Female Northern Spotted Owl - Photo: Melissa Hafting
Juvenile Spotted Owl in WA - Photo: Melissa Hafting
Adult Female Northern Spotted Owl in WA State - Photo: Melissa Hafting
Here is a movie I made on my iPhone of the 2 curious Owlets together.


Here are 2 videos I made with my actual camera, I apologize before hand for the shaking! My defense is I had no tripod....

Beware you may get nauseous while watching...
The one of the adult female is too large to be uploaded directly on the site. You must click HERE to view.
Below is one of the Juvies head bobbing:



Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 30, 2017 at 9:41 PM

    Wow! must have been an amazing experience!
    Congrats on your amazing achievement of seeing all the North American owls in 12 months!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim CumminsAugust 31, 2017 at 9:26 PM

    Congratulations on seeing all of the North American owls in 12 months. I haven't seen them all so far in my life.

    ReplyDelete
  3. marin blockaAugust 31, 2017 at 9:42 PM

    melissa these are the best spotted owl photos I have ever seen. you are one talented photographer and congratulations on your owl big year what a terrific feat!

    ReplyDelete
  4. LonelytravellerSeptember 1, 2017 at 9:39 AM

    What an absolutely amazing experience! Fantastic photos and I really enjoyed the videos. Owls are magnificent animals!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Melissa HaftingSeptember 1, 2017 at 9:34 PM

    Thanks everyone for your very kind comments, truly appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. michael winstonSeptember 5, 2017 at 4:23 AM

    mel these photos are stunning nothing more to say. well the experience must have been entrancing too. how lucky you and ilya are to share the same passion. these are the best spotted owl photos i've ever seen.... just sayin'. Thanks for bringing more awareness to their plight the liberal and conservative governments that used to be in power in this province destroyed much wildlife and habitat and unfortunately the bc spotted owls paid the ultimate price. i hope it isn't the same fate for wa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa HaftingSeptember 5, 2017 at 5:12 PM

      Thank you so much. I hope the washington owls do not have the same fate as ours as well.

      Delete
  7. UnknownJanuary 30, 2022 at 1:28 PM

    Last month I was biking a dirt trail next to a stream in a wooded area of Portland Oregon when I came across a big cyotee(sorry don't know how to spell very well). That in itself wasn't too crazy but what happened next was. I continued down the trail for only about 30 more seconds when a huge bird flew under the tree branches only about 4 feet above my head and then landed on a tall dead tree. There to my amazement we're not 1, not 2, but 3 of the most beautiful owls I have ever seen. All 3 stood about 2 feet tall and looked just like spotted owls. Their big eyes and beautiful feathers stunned me as they were only 20 feet from me. They seemed like they were in some kind of panic and also seemed to like that I was there because they got calm and I stayed with them for a good half hour before leaving. There was a definite connection between me and the owls and it felt almost heavenly or magical. if you have any idea on how or why these birds were where they were, why 3 adults would be together, or why I got to see them please email me at leaveit2kliewer@yahoo.com. the area is populated close by and it wasn't a big forest, maybe a couple miles across. I went back to try and find them again but they were gone. I will never forget that moment and will always cherish with you your passion for these creatures because of it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Dowitcher Identification

Image
Birders notoriously find it difficult to tell Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers apart. I have got a request to do an identification explanation on them so here goes, I hope it will be helpful. Short-billed Dowitchers and Long-billed look so similar. Using their habitat is helpful but not diagnostic. Short-billed Dowitchers tend to prefer Salt water and brackish water and Long-billed Dowitchers tend to prefer fresh water. However, I have OFTEN seen Short-billeds in freshwater and Long-billeds in brackish and salt water. Therefore, DO NOT rely on habitat. Another feature many people will tell you to rely on is spotting on the side of the flanks of Short-billeds and barring on the side of Long-billeds. Usually this is a mark that you can use but it is not always as distinct as you like. I have seen Short-billeds with a barred appearance to the flanks. It is only at the side of the breast where you have to look for this diagnostic feature for the spots on a Short-billed and t...
Read more

Hawk Identification Tips from every angle (Sharpie vs Cooper and Red-tailed Subspecies)

Image
I get several questions about the difference between accipiters. The most common ones are between Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks and between Cooper's Hawks vs Northern Goshawks (to a lesser degree). Next, I get many questions dealing with a certain race of buteos the Western Red-tailed Hawk and Harlan's. So I thought I would do a post on these to help answer those questions. I will deal with Cooper's and Sharpies and not Goshawks because they are much more common here and look much more alike. My friend John Reynolds inspired me to write this up. COOPER'S AND SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS EYE COLOUR - YELLOW OR ORANGE? RED? Normally a juvenile Cooper's hawk has a bright yellow eye and a Juvie Sharpie has a orange eye but some cooper's can have a dull yellow eye that looks a bit orangish. Cooper's Hawks usually only transition to the orange eye colour when they are sub adults, so in good light, it's a very very reliable feature. However you ...
Read more

STINT IDENTIFICATION

Image
As per request, here are some tips that I hope will be helpful in identifying and differentiating Red-necked Stint from Little Stint. I will also do a brief intro on Long-toed and Temminck's Stint... if you build it they will come right?😉 Red-necked and Little Stints look very much alike in worn breeding plumage. The amount of Red on the face, throat and breast in Red-necked Stint is vary variable). They look even more alike in non-breeding plumage, that is why it is essential to learn structural differences to separate the two. They are similar to Semipalmated Sandpipers as well as Sanderlings. Both species are often confused for Red-necked Stints. Little Stints rarely get confused with Sanderling because they have a hind toe which helps differentiate it from this species. Sanderlings in breeding or worn breeding are usually confused with Red-necked Stints but they are much larger than Red-necked Stints. Let's first start with Bills in this complicated ID proces...
Read more

*Updated - The most famous Red-tailed Hawk is eating fish on the ground just like a Bald Eagle!

Image
Update - There are plans in the works to make a documentary film on this young Red-tailed Hawk who thinks he's an Eagle. You can read the latest news about that on CBC HERE . Watch this incredible footage of the little Red-tailed Hawk who grew up in a family of three Eaglets and 2 Bald Eagle Parents. He is imprinted now on Bald Eagles. He looks and acts just like one, as you can see here in the video below. He is standing over a large salmon carcass, just like a Bald Eagle would and he's eating the decaying flesh. Red-tailed Hawks like to eat voles and rabbits etc. not fish! Imprinting is usually irreversible according to raptor expert David Bird. However, I hope it's reversible so that he doesn't attempt to mate with a Bald Eagle, as the Eagle would kill him because it would view him as a Hawk. Eagle expert David Hancock said that the bird will likely starve and get killed by an eagle. He said this possibly can be prevented if someone grabs it and takes it to O...
Read more

1 year since I lost my father

Image
My dad and I whom I miss terribly. One year on since I lost him. Today would have been my mother's bday. Her name was Valerie and it is also the first year anniversary of the death of my beloved father, Arne. There is not a day that goes by where I don't think of them. Now for ever more the day of his death will be connected to her birthday, a very sad day but in a way that connection is beautiful to tie them together. My beautiful family before we lost both parents. I put flowers down at their grave to celebrate them both today. I hate that it is one year since I told him I loved him and hugged him. I miss him so very much. I miss his voice, his love and guidance and support. The ground for me feels shakier without his guidance and safety. I hate I will never see him again or talk to him again. Can't believe how quick time passes. This is why it is so important we treasure every single day to the fullest and tell those we love them. I will never forget the day he passed aw...
Read more