Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Saving the spotted owl - kill the barred owl

I wasn't joking.

I learned something, I never knew about this!

Couple guys here never heard of what? Barred owls, or the entire spotted owl disaster that wrecked forestry and forest communities in the Pacific coastal regions? Thousands of people lost decent jobs doing good work. And here we are with a program that's going to cost over a grand to pop each owl? You've got to be shytting me.

I battle this insanity on a daily basis through my wild game lobby group.

The redcockaded woodpecker and the flatwoods salamander management protocols set forth by the USFW and the USFS literally kills hundreds if not thousands of Quail poults, Turkey Poults, Fawns, Box turtles etc annually.

The management protocol set forth by the USFW and USFS as well as the partnered Nature Conservancy programs, specifically calls for the use of large scale high intensity prescribed fire during the nesting, emerging and fawning season throughout the South East.

It's like the Cheech and Chong song about saving the whales.

Ain't news to me but I'm a bird guy.

Where did they find such a wuss ("never fired a gun before"). Most actually employed Ornithologists I've met would blow barred owls away without compunction if the science supported it. Not a whole lot different than culling cowbirds which has been going on for decades some places. As pointed out, taking out barred owls one at a time by calling them in is expensive and labor intensive.

The real issue is, what is causing barred owls to invade spotted owl habitat where it wasn't a problem before?

Maybe he could come shoot the canadian wolves out of idaho.

Bb

Habitat loss has let the Barred Owls expand their range.

They need to just leave things alone and accept the fact the Barred Owls will eventually replace the Spotted Owls.

Exactly right. if it's something we did let's fix it if it's a natural occurrence let's let Mother Nature do her thing, species have been taking over and replacing other species for eons.

He would have to bring a portable cry room with him

we have kind of a bird friendly back yard. water, trees, left over goat and feral cat food. for years we had mourning doves nesting in the trees and a couple times a day coming in for food and water.
not so much any more, it's the collared or ring necked dove. Bigger, more aggressive, they have kicked the mourning out.
now mourning dove are protected somewhat by a season, the ringed neck not so much. we have as many as 15 or so a day that regularly come in. It would be real easy with a pellet gun to pop three or four a day.
wife isn't happy with that thought.
since the ring neck are considered an invasive species, you can shoot on sight.
Personally i leave them alone, they have a hard enough time between the feral cats, and hawks/owls that also live in the area.

Took this photo at our pond about three weeks ago....

Barred owl.

What an awesome looking creature!

Why would killing owls bother them? They sure weren't fazed when they put Canadian wolves in Idaho that quickly killed off or bred out of existence Idaho's entire native wolf population.