My research focuses on this tiny owl, Otus flammeolus, commonly known as the Flammulated owl. They are found across the Western United States from Colorado to California in old growth pine forests at higher elevations. Because they are a small, cryptic, nocturnal owl, they are difficult to locate and thus are still a bit of a mystery. Research has been done on them for many years to learn about their nesting behavior, habitat use, and diet. They were classified as a Species of Special Concern by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2002 because it was thought their habitat might be declining because of increased logging in pine forests. They are believed to be neotropical migrants that travel down to Mexico during the winter but there is little concrete evidence that a bird from Washington or Utah travels all the way to Mexico. This project looks to solve that mystery. These birds show site fidelity, meaning that there is a high probability that they will return to their breeding grounds year after year. Males defend territory to attract females and thus show higher site fidelity than females, making them excellent candidates for migration studies. Using a device called a geolocator, which is attached as a backpack harness and weighs only one gram, we can record the sunlight readings in small intervals of time for the bird at its given location. The data analysis part of the project is a bit complicated but there is software that helps out. The goal is that if the bird can be recaptured the next year, we will have a year's worth of data and we will be able to use that data to determine where that bird went. So far in 2012, we have put out 9 geolocators on males in Washington, 3 in Colorado, and 24 (6 females and 18 males) in Utah. The birds in Utah were ones that use nestboxes while the birds from Washington and Colorado were using natural cavities. In 2013 we want to put out another 25 geolocators in California at a nestbox site and then see who comes back. We hope that information obtained from this project can provide insight about habitat use of these birds throughout their migration so that we can better protect them year round. ​

 

 

This Master's Thesis project is a collective effort to learn more about these amazing birds with the help of the USFWS, David Johnson of the Global Owl Project (Washington site), Markus Mika of Hawkwatch International (Utah site), Brian Linkhart of Colorado College, Colorado Springs (Colorado site), and coming soon in 2013 David Arsenault of the Plumas Audubon Society (California site). ​





Photos on this page courtesy of Danielle Munzing

​Shannon Rich

Graduate Student

Adviser: Colleen Hatfield

Department of Biological Sciences

California State University, Chico