By the late 1980s, between 3% and 7% of old growth remained in the region’s 56.8 million acres of forest in a mosaic of clearcuts and second-growth timber. "Hoot…who-who…hoooo.". We bushwack through vine maple, salal, sword fern and devil’s club. Burrowing owl. The spotted owl became the unexpected symbol at the center of the Timber Wars. Biological science technician Alaina Thomas during a night survey, listening for the hoot of a spotted owl. Forsman knew that owls hoot to communicate with other owls — especially if another owl encroaches on their territory — so he tried to mimic the barking call. Spotted Owl Sounds. A pre-recorded hoot comes out. Benjamin Chan. But no one — not even Forsman — could not have imagined how the small bird that lived deep in ancient Pacific Northwest forests and the new act of Congress would intersect 17 years later in the pivotal turning point of the Timber Wars. Lesmeister's team can collect more data from the forest than ever before. Boots slip on the downhill, and we tug our way uphill by grabbing onto tree roots. The computer analyzes the sounds and suggests which ones might be the call of a spotted owl. After a set amount of time, she pushes the button on the speaker again. Lesmeister can tell immediately that it is a mated pair, directly communicating with each other. “They're actually kind of a real dark brown when you get close,” Forsman says, “but at any distance beyond a few feet they look black.”, Related: Spotted Owls Still Losing Ground In Northwest Forests, Staring into the dark eyes of a spotted owl for the first time, Forsman was transfixed. Lesmeister’s research might, eventually, do just that. It was a transitional historic moment marked by protests, lawsuits and even sabotage that reshaped the Northwest timber industry and environmental policy and thrust the spotted owl into the national spotlight. And researchers are increasingly sparing in using the very technique that was the first and most fundamental in studying spotted owls: calling. They have stood here longer than America has been a country. If Lesmeister hired one of his graduate students to listen to the recordings in real-time, for eight hours a day, five days a week, they wouldn’t be able to get through them all in a lifetime. But he was surprised when suddenly the owl swooped to a nearby tree limb as if summoned. spotted owl was listed under the Endangered Species Act, Spotted Owls Still Losing Ground In Northwest Forests, Old-Growth Forests Can Provide Last Refuge For Declining Songbirds As Climate Changes, So Far, Northwest Forest Plan Falling Short Of Biodiversity Goals, How Barred Owls Win The Fight For Forest and Food, Half Mystery, Half Magic: In Search Of Great Grey Owls, How Oregon Rivers Carried Millions Of Trees, A War, The Chainsaw And The 2nd Great Cutting Of The Northwest. Listen to Barred owl on bird-sounds.net - a comprehensive collection of North American bird songs and bird calls. Or if he found it ironic to wear as a Forest Service owl counter. He also knew the calls of barn owls and great horned owls. Forsman stared in amazement, and the owl stared back with large dark eyes. Be a part of it! Locations that had once been consistent nesting sites are empty, and it takes crews longer to locate active sites. So Lesmeister has had to seek new methods. He began to locate the owls and their nests and set up study sites from the California border to the Columbia River. It was the first time I heard the call of a northern spotted owl. As twilight silhouetted the mountain and the first stars appeared, it was time to start. Like the legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyon, my research teammate Paul was a burly guy with a thick black beard. Some loads would have three or four giant logs — as wide across as out-stretched arms. Just as Forsman helped pioneer studying spotted owls in the 20th century, Lesmeister’s work is pioneering in the 21st. Then, every once in a while, a truck would come down with a single massive log. 1973 also saw the passage of the Endangered Species Act. The mountains of the Coast Range aren’t high in elevation, but they are steep in pitch. So they make use of the supercomputer at Oregon State University. “So it became apparent pretty early on,” he said, “that there might be a problem in terms of spotted owl habitat and logging not being exactly compatible.”. “When we first started doing spotted owl research, 50 years ago now, there were no barred owls in these forests,” says Forsman. Chris McCafferty, crew leader of spotted owl researchers in the Oregon Coast Range, found a nesting pair of spotted owls in this tree last season. Last updated: December 2, 2019. Eastern screech owl. “How many spotted owl confirmations do you have at this site?” asks Lesmeister, as he pulls a stool up next to Ruff. They probably begin breeding at two to three years of age. In Oregon, the saying went, “timber was king.”. It was a sight I’d previously seen only in old photos and postcards from the bonanza days of logging. Overall brown with bold white spots on belly and back. It is the four-note territorial call of the spotted owl. The next spring, U.S. District Judge William Dwyer issued an injunction, halting new timber sales on 24 million acres on 17 national forests in Oregon, Washington and Northern California, until a definitive plan could be made. Lesmeister is stepping into spotted owl research at an exciting time, when the potential for new digital technology seems limitless. Back at the lab, research assistant Zach Ruff has to confirm which ones are indeed spotted owls. In it, we can hear two owls, calling and responding. Favorites. Sign up to get important news and culture from around the Northwest, delivered to your inbox six days a week. “It’s pretty discouraging,” she says. As Ruff plays another track, a familiar sound comes out of the computer’s speakers. “This is the Oregon I’d always dreamed of,” he said, as we looked out across a vast checkerboard of clear-cuts and dense old-growth forest. Sound recording of Northern spotted owl, Yosemite National Park, California. In fact, it’d take about 520 years — a lifespan closer to that of an old-growth Douglas fir. A - Z. App. My research teammate, Paul, cupped his hands to his mouth and belted out his best owl call: one hoot, followed by two quick hoots, and then a final trailing hoot. With me was a college biology student who had come from Oklahoma for a seasonal position as a wildlife technician. At night it silently hunts small mammals such as woodrats and flying squirrels. In addition to the municipal source of drinking water, Forsman knew the 10,000-acre forest was also home to spotted owls. Now, these landings are mostly overgrown by brush. Sound recording of Northern spotted owl, Yosemite National Park, California. “Now they're virtually everywhere.”. Northern Spotted Owl. They’re related to spotted owls (both from the genus Strix), but here's what was confusing to bird biologists: no one expected to see them in the forests of Oregon. Forsman went to the Corvallis City Council to advocate for the spotted owls. Damon Lesmeister has taken up the work pioneered by Forsman. He had grown up on farmlands outside of Eugene so he was familiar with the sound of dogs barking in the country. Breeding in Middle America, North America: w; can be seen in 3 countries. “We’re learning there is nuanced communication,” Lesmeister says with enthusiasm. The small brown owl with dappled spots did not seem afraid of him. “It's sort of next-generation natural history.”. Flammulated owl. Long-eared owl. As the road rises and twists deeper into the forest, spur roads split off and dead-end at former logging landings where heavy equipment once skidded cut trees and loaded logs onto trucks.