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WEDNESDAY, October 2, 2013 VOL. 46, NO. 40 75¢
The owls of our isle
A story of the barred owl and what its presence means to us by CALI BAGBY Staff reporter
Described as beautiful, aggressive and at once both soft and sharp, barred owls are an object of fascination and concern. Recent national news reports that barred owls are displacing spotted owls have the Sounder wondering just how the species fits into our island ecosystem, and did it force spotted owls from our isles?
Owl versus owl According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the Pacific Northwest barred owls are displacing and hybridizing with spotted owls – their slightly smaller, less aggressive cousins – which are already threatened from habitat loss. That is why this year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published an environmental impact statement explaining why it had approved the removal of about 3,600 barred owls from specific areas through Oregon, Washington and California. According to Seattle-based
nature writer Craig Welch, spotted owl populations in parts of Washington are half what they were in the 1980s. “Throughout their range, from Canada to California, Northern spotted owls are disappearing three times faster than biologists had feared,” wrote Welch in his article “The Spotted Owl’s New Nemesis” in the Smithsonian Magazine.
Birds of a feather Barred owls have vertical brown and light barring or streaking on the belly and lower chest, whereas the spotted owl has light spots on its chest. Both owls have dark brown, almost black eyes and their wings and tail are brown and white. Barred owls live in large, mature forests made up of both deciduous trees and evergreens, often near water. They nest in tree cavities. In the Northwest, barred owls have moved into old-growth coniferous forests, where they compete with the threatened spotted owl. There is some data that suggests they are
interbreeding, which is going to change the population, said Orcas biologist Kim Middleton. In 1990, the Northern subspecies of spotted owl came under the Endangered Species Act (two subspecies in other parts of the country were not affected). Both owls are not migratory birds, and generally stay in the same area. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, of 158 birds that were banded and found later, none had moved farther than six miles away. But what is interesting about the barred owl is that original populations were found in the East and during the 20th century the bird spread through the Pacific Northwest and southward into California. Mark Lewis, the senior author of “Birding in the San Juan Islands,” said barred owls were first noted in the San Juan Islands in the early 1980s when they were considered “vagrants” but were actually the vanguard of a major colonization movement to the West Coast. “They did not become estab-
Ray Bosch for USFWS/Contributed photo
The barred owl has vertical brown and light barring or streaking. lished here until around 2000, a full decade later than Vancouver and Victoria [Canada] (they seemed to colonize parks and suburbs first),” he added. According to the National Audubon Society’s Annual Christmas Count database, barred owls were not reported to be seen in the islands until 2007.
Library hopeful public will support expansion by CALI BAGBY Staff reporter
On any given day you can see a full spectrum of folks engrossed in everything from books to audio CDs to movies to computers at the Orcas Island Public Library. Ages of patrons range from pre-schoolers to teens to seniors. They all congregate to what Rachel Newcombe calls a community hub. ‘The library is more than just about hard books, it’s about space,” said Newcombe who is president of the library board. It turns out that space, not reading materials, is something that the library has run out of. “People have to sit in their cars to use WiFi because there is no where to sit inside.” “Often people sit with laptops in there laps because there are no desks.” “There are tables in the aisles.” “And just look at how small the young adults section is – less than 100 square feet.” “It’s crowded like a New York City subway.”
These were all comments told to this writer by the board on a recent tour of the library. This lack of space and a vision for a library that can be better than just average are why two weeks ago the library board passed a motion to proceed with an expansion of the building. After looking through surveys, observation, community feedback and a needs assessment last summer, library staff concluded that patrons needed more room. “If we didn’t respond to the needs of the community we wouldn’t be meeting the responsibility of the library,” said library trustee Margaret Payne. The board has recently printed a pamphlet with these statistics: since 1995 library cardholders have increased by 86 percent from 3,103 to 5,872; the collection has increased by 68 percent to 51, 968 items; programs and classes have increased by 161 percent to 238 yearly. These numbers are evidence to the
board that change is in order. No designs have been made final, but the board is looking at an addition of around 1,500 to 2,000 square feet in the northwest sector of the library grounds. The list of needs includes more computer work stations, an additional family restroom, periodical space, an office, more storage, independent and group study area, a quiet reading room, moveable shelves to allow for more space and a place for young adults. But before any shovels hit the ground there are meetings to be held, designs to be created and money to be raised. Projection of the cost is estimated to be around $750,000. The library board has a small capital improvements fund and has maintained donations received for building projects. In addition, the Friends of the Orcas Island Library have accumulated a fund intended
SEE LIBRARY, PAGE 3
The mystery of the spotted owl Local bird experts agree that spotted owls are not found here and there is little in the record books to suggest a significant pop-
SEE OWLS, PAGE 6
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