A Season of Screech – The Life of a Western Screech-Owl Technician
By Tasha Schweb
Western Screech-Owls (Megascops kennicotii) are unexpectedly small, extremely charismatic, and sometimes frustratingly elusive raptors. They can pack a surprising amount of personality into a tiny package. Here in the Okanagan, they live in riparian habitats in the valley bottoms and feed on small rodents such as shrews and voles, as well as insects, snakes, and various other prey species. Because of their small appearance and nocturnal habits, many people are unaware of their existence, much less the fact that they are threatened. In light of our changing climate, it is important to consider what habitats are important for these owls to inform conservation efforts for this species. The effects of climate change is one of the things that Megan Buers, a Master’s student at the University of British Columbia, is working to explore. Her research is focused on how riparian habitats may act as thermal refugia for this cryptic species during times of extreme heat. With her love of owls and passion for conservation not lost on anyone, she is the perfect person for the job.
This summer I had the opportunity to work as a field technician for Megan during her first year of research. This was my first real job in the field of biology and, like many students looking to begin a career in conservation, I was very enthusiastic but somewhat unsure of what to expect. Throughout this post, I hope to shed some light on what a field season can look like.
The beginning of the season was filled with the most essential and obvious task – finding Western Screech-Owl nests to monitor. We began the field season armed with the knowledge of likely screech-owl habitats, territories discovered through night surveys, and previous eBird identifications. The first plan of attack was to investigate clues in the forest, specifically looking for owl roosts and potential nest cavities. Splashes of silky whitewash under branching western cedars and ponderosa pines, sometimes accompanied by small messy pellets filled with jawbones, fur, and insect carapaces, indicated that the owls were close by. Away from the forest floor and up into the canopy, we explored every possible nest cavity with our peeper – essentially a specialized camera attached to a pole that could slide easily into tree cavities. I quickly learned how to hone my ability to search for these clues, sharpening my search image to easily find tree cavities, good roosting spots and gray pellets that blended into the forest floor. I figured out how to navigate through the forest terrain with my eyes toward the treetops.
Despite our best efforts, these methods ultimately proved unsuccessful in efficiently finding nests. Without another tactic, finding a nest cavity in a forest of trees was like searching for a needle in a haystack. With advice from other biologists in the field, our work quickly changed to a watching, waiting, and following game. We began going out into the forest at night and finding roosting owls using call playback, a method of playing soft owl calls and waiting to hear a response. I learned how to study the owl’s behaviour to provide clues to the nest’s location – where they were looking, where they were flying, and how anxious they got as we tested potential nest trees by pretending to climb them. We started seeing the owls almost every night, and our efforts began to pay off, we finally started to find nests.
Once we located a nest, we were able to monitor the chick’s development. We watched small snowball-like chicks grow up into awkward, personality-filled teenagers itching to leave home. I learned how to set up mist nests, trap, extract, handle, measure, weigh and fit the chicks with radio tags so we could track their locations. I gained experience using telemetry to track the juveniles’ dispersal, following radio signals into dense forests and backyard pool oases alike. When not in the field, I spent time in the lab dissecting pellets for diet analysis. This involved learning to identify species using jawbones, pelvis bones and hair.
Studying these secretive owls was filled with bumps in the road, big learning curves, many long days, and exciting nights. I learned about the challenges and rewards of working in the field as a biologist – working through long, hot, physically exhausting days all becomes worth it when you find yourself surrounded by curious chicks getting fed by their parents. I gained insight into a nocturnal world very different from our daily lives and fell completely under the charm of these owls. Overall, my first field season was an incredible learning experience that I will never forget.
