Dead Owls, etc...

[Andrew McKinley]

Hi everyone,
I braved the cold today in hopes of getting some decent pictures of the scoters and went out to Col. Sam Smith park. No unusual birds to report, the W.W. scoters were abundant but there was very little else to see other than the common ducks and a plethora of mink tracks, though no mink (again). However, I did run into an unusual discover that shows just how bad the weather has been this winter... I found not one but two dead long eared owls that looked like they were killed by the cold. They were perfectly preserved and it was really strange to see them like that....
Its been a rough month....
-Andrew

[Mathew Rossi]

You saw these both in Sam Smith? Weren't there recently dogs dying in another nearby Etobicoke area due to suspected poisoning, I wonder if this is related.

[Andrew McKinley]

I don't know... but yeah they were both in Sam Smith only a few meters from each other.... I took some pictures but there was no overt sign of physical damage.... I assumed they froze, but I suppose it is odd that two were so close together....

[Michael A]

On a recent visit to the vet, he warned us that the poisoning in the western parks is rat poison hid in pieces of hot dogs.  Don't know if that helps determine if it might have done in the owls.

[Andrew McKinley]

I really hope thats not whats happening. If anyone who knows about this kind of thing wants to examine the birds I will disclose their whereabouts.... I think it is still possible that the cold did them in... it has been pretty bad lately and long ears do roost in groups, which would explain why they were so close together.
-Andrew

[BIGFRANK]

Hi Andrew,Im sure the ROM(Royal Ontario Museum) would be interested in the specimens. They collect various owls/hawks etc. They would determine cause of death for sure. They have a huge collection there.

[moratorian]

I was at Sam Smith today (Sat 16) and saw the dead owls (at least I hope they were the same ones). It's hard to tell what killed them. Would owls eat a hot dog? I have not heard of any other wild life being poisoned. Although its been cold the last few days, it was colder a few weeks ago. Maybe a combination of stress (harassed by a dog?)and cold. Just guessing here.

Mike

[Mathew Rossi]

I talked with an expert at Mountsberg today and she said for sure the cold didn't kill them. She agreed with poison being likely. Someone should take those birds somewhere they'd go to educational use ie. stuffed - I saw a great collection of stuffed specimens at Mountsberg today.

[Anonymous]

Don't think they were poisoned people....

After speaking with others involved in the industry, there appears to be quite a few deceased owls out there.  The main culprit is the deep snow - while the owls can hear the prey, they can't reach it.  As a result, they are dying of starvation.  The reason you found the 2 long eared owls together is because they tend to roost in pairs throughout the winter.

Lets hope that the rain we'll be getting over the next couple of days will lower the snow levels and make prey more reachable for the owls and other birds.

Attila

[Tyler]

A Long-eared Owl was delivered to the ROM this afternoon apparently from colonel Sam Smith Park area. This specimen may possibly be one of the owls mentioned above. This bird did not show any signs of starvation. The cause of death will probably be determined in the future. I have delivered 3 Long-eared specimens to the ROM over the last 10 years all in good health before their death. 2 were found the same morning within three feet of them, one was missing its head and the other appeared untouched. Probably victims of the neighborhood Great Horned owl. Great Horns love to eat other owls (including Barred, Great Grays, actually anything they can surprise). The Colonel Sam Smith long-ears possibly got caught by a Great Horned owl/ other predator which was disturbed before it could eat its kill.

Lots of Great Horned Owls are now sitting on eggs, so the males are going to have to hunt harder now that he has to feed the female in addition to himself. So expect to possibly see an increase in various prey remains in that area if there are nesting Great horns nearby

Long-eared Owls roost in non breeding season in groups ranging from 1 to 7+ birds regularly. Over the years at Amherst Island they have had 15+ roosting in the same general area in Owl Woods.  

As for Snow most owls can readily plunge into deep snow to make a kill if the snow is not hard. With the rain and the freeze now the Owls are going to be experiencing more trouble. A few inches of hard ice encrusted snow on top gives the rodents an additional protection (a solid roof for their winter trails). Until this hard crust melts the owls will experience harder times hunting since their abilities to plunge into the snow has been reduced to removed with the icy crust.