The Owlet Mall and more : raptor conservation

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Owls in the News: Lawsuit Filed for California Spotted Owl

Owls have been struggling to survive for decades and the California Spotted Owl is no exception. Found primarily in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, their numbers are being threatened by logging, urban development, and even from the more aggressive barred owls. Consequently, the Center for Biological Diversity, along with a few other groups, presented a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list this bird as endangered. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, they have not yet acted on this petition and, therefore, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the imperative need of this protection. According to the Center Biological Diversity, the decision from the US Fish and Wildlife Service was due in January 2016.

Spotted Owls are medium sized owls with large white spots on their chest and belly. They lack ear turfs and have with big brown eyes. They have overall brown feathers, with the California subspecies' hue being between the lighter Northern Spotted and the darker Mexican Spotted.

The California Spotted Owls prefer to live in high elevation in mature dense forests. Their main prey are the flying squirrel and the dusky-footed woodrat.

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Little Spotted Owls Classic White Coffee Mug by NezumiWorld
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Spotted Owls Baby Shower Invitation by origamiprints
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Cute Polkadot Spotted Owl Wall Decal by Catchthemoon
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SAVE THE SPOTTED OWLS!, Collect the entire set! Car Bumper Sticker by ScurvyDawg
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Spotted Owl Postcard by WildlifeAnimals
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Northern Spotted Owl Classic White Coffee Mug by Alleycatshirts
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Spotted Owl Mailing Label Return Address Label by WildlifeAnimals
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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Owl New Year

It will soon be time to say good-bye to 2015 and hello to 2016. 2015 brought some good and bad news to the owls of the world. The major good news occurred in the United Kingdom where aggressive conservation efforts resulted in a large increase of Barn Owls. Yea!

As for the bad news, the endangered and federally protected Northern Spotted Owls have been at war with the Barred Owls within the Pacific Northwest Forest, and it is not likely that the Spotted Owl will endure without our help. It is said that Barred Owls now heavily outnumber the Spotted Owls. This is in addition to the continual decline of Spotted Owls worldwide due to deforestation. Clearly, the two species cannot co-exist, but there is not suficient land space suitable for the less aggressive Spotted Owls. A lot more work and effort will be needed this upcoming year to help the Spotted Owl survive. Hopefully, with the help of the big conservation organizations, such as, the National Wildlife Federation and Conservation Northwest, we will see some improvements in 2016.

On a lighter note, a new year means a new calendar, and so I present you with an array of owl wall calendars for a hooting good year.