Spotted Owls

1. Spotted Owls Asa Selenis

2. The Spotted Owl • Scientific Name; Strix Occidentalis • Family; Strigidae • Color; Grey/brown with light spotting on backs and breasts • Eyes; Unlike most owls, spotted owls have dark eyes , and are one of only four owls that have dark (brown or black) eyes. • Size; Tend to be 43-48 centimeters in height, with females normally being about 2-3 centimeters larger than males . • Body; Round heads, no ear tufts • Life; Tend to live to be 17-19 years old, that is, if they survive as young spotted owl, but a captivated spotted owl was known to live for 21 years. • General; Don’t migrate, (Move nets throughout the year) though some pairs of owls move up to 13 miles from original nest, rare in Pacific Northwest, and they are nocturnal (hunt at night) • Sound; http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Strix&species=occidentalis

3. Preferred Habitat and Range Habitat • Spotted owls prefer to have forests of old-growth, mature Douglass-firs with dense canopies. They also like to have lots of complex vegetation at different levels and areas in the forest. Spotted owls sometimes do not nest in places due to the amount of people that visit the area, because spotted owls like large areas of undisturbed forest. • Spotted owls are found in low to mid-elevation forests, often near streams and other water sources • A single pair of spotted owls needs 2,000-2,500 acres of undisturbed land, but with loggers cutting down such a huge amount of forests, spotted owls often don’t get the amount of room that they need to thrive in the world. Range • Spotted Owls are found in Western Washington, and are found in Seattle (though not shown on this map, because they are rare, and occasionallynot year round in Seattle)

4. Spotted Owl North American Range Map Spotted Owls are found down the Pacific west coast of the United States, in New Mexico, Arizona, and in parts of Mexico.

5. Feeding and Nesting Habits Feeding Habits • Prey; Northern flying squirrels, rats, mice, voles, rabbits, bats, small birds, and large invertebrates (animals that don’t have a back bone). • Habits; Sometimes spotted owls store/ hide food from other animals, which is called cashing. • Hunt at night. • Sometimes have to fight barred owl(s) for food, because barred owls eat very similar things to the spotted owl. Nesting Habits • Where they Nest; In trees with broken tops, and other natural hollows. • Nesting; Most spotted owls don’t change nests every year. • Use nests that other animals have already made, and abandoned, or nests that are made by nature, but never make their own nests. • Females are believed to pick out the nests . Breeding • Spotted Owls are monogamous, meaning they mate for life. • Most pairs of spotted owls breed every year, though some don’t. • The baby owls (owlets or nestlings) leave the nest 98-110 days after their parents breed.

6. Human and Natural Threats Natural Threats • West Nile Virus; An infectious disease spread through other animals, that is mosquito borne(kept alive by mosquitoes). • Habitat Loss; Natural disasters: fires, volcanic eruption, and windstorms. • Predators(For young owls); fisher, northern goshawks, and crows. • For all Spotted owls; Great horned owls, red tailed hawks, golden eagles, and ravens. Human threats • Habitat Loss; Loggers are cutting down many trees to make paper, houses, and almost anything else made out of trees. • All of these threats ,( human and natural) cause less than 80% of owls to survive through there life as a young owl.

7. Steps People Can Take to Help this Species • Don’t Cut Down Trees • If people don’t cut down trees, spotted owls, and many other animals would have all of the area they need to survive in. Spotted owls sometimes get injured by barred owls, because they have to fight to get food, or area to live in. Barred owls have a slightadvantage over spotted owls, being slightly larger. If people would stop cutting down trees, there would be more habitat for spotted owls to live in, causing them to not have to fight with barred owls, and not get injured. Baby Spotted Owls

8. Personal Connection and Cultural Importance Personal Connection • Once, when I was walking to the swimming area at Green Lake, there was an owl that was perched on a tree branch and then flew away. It was very cool to see an owl in flight because I had never seen one before, but it was weird to see an owl out at daytime, because owls are nocturnal animals. Cultural Importance • Spotted owls are important to the Haida cultures of Alaska and British Columbia, where spotted owls are carved into many totem poles. • In ancient cultures, owls were thought to bring life and good health, while in other cultures, owls were thought to bring bad health, or even death. • Owls are found today on Ancient Greek coins, in Ancient cave paintings, on tools, and in legend (owls have fascinated people for millions of years, that being why they are found on so many things from long ago).

9. Bibliography Jarvis, Kila, D. W. Holt, Leslie Leroux, and Courtney Couch. Owls: Whoo [i.e. Who] Are They? Missoula, MT: Mountain Pub., 1996. Print. "Owls: Species: Strix." The Owl Pages. The Owl Pages, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. "Spotted Owl." All About Birds. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.  "Spotted Owl." BirdWeb. Seattle Audubon Society, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. "Spotted Owl." - StrixOccidentalis. Oceanus World Link Services, Inc., 2011. Web. 21 May 2013.

10. Image Cites • http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_owl/lifehistory (Opening slide) • www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird//spotted_owl (maps) • www.pbase.com/samwoods/india (3 baby owls) • http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/northern-spotted-owl-pod-best09/ (Spotted owl in flight)

11. Spotted Owls They’re becoming endangered, due to how much of the forests that humans are cutting down. We humans can’t keep cutting down forests, or spotted owls and many other animals with become extinct. Don’t cut down trees, save the spotted owls!