Poorwills, Flam Owls and Virginia Rail

A weekend spent in Penticton at BC Nature AGM proved to be a great time for birders. It involved evening and early morning bird outings. The first evening, at dusk, we set off ostensibly to track down owls. We did hear Flammulated and Great Horned Owls, but no view of them. A surprise appearance of a Poorwill on the road, mesmerized by car lights was a highlight. And we heard many calling with the delightful soft “poorwill”, which is a sound birder’s associate with the dry interior shrub, bush and open woodland forest. The Common Poorwill belongs to the family of goatsuckers; so named due to the biblical and erroneous belief that they would fly into barns at night and suckle on goats. This family includes Common Nighthawks and Nightjars. The Common Poorwill measures 7.75 inches and weighs a mere 1.5 ounces. They are active at night and unlike Nighthawks, which catch their prey on the wing, the Poorwill sits on the ground in the open to catch flying insects. They are rather chunky grey birds with a short tail and short rounded wings and tend to be solitary. When the bill is open it reveals a large mouth surrounded by long stiff bristles which prove to be advantageous when catching insects. (In Australia there is a bird of this family called a Frogmouth – a much more descriptive word for this family of birds). The Common Poorwill is near the northern limit of its range, but can be found in the Thompson River Valley and even into the Chilcotin Plateau.  A slight hollow in the ground that serves as a nest is frequently found in the Ponderosa/Douglas Fir Forests and usually has 2 eggs. It is sometimes placed in a location sheltered by a rock or a small bush. Flammulated Owl The “Flammies” as the birders call them, are one of our smallest owls measuring 6.75 inches and weighing a little over 2 ounces. It is another bird near the northern limit of its range in North America. It is rarely seen during the day preferring to roost in cavities but at night the soft “boo boot” call can be heard some distance off, a call which is repeated every 2 or 3 seconds, over and over. It has distinguishing dark eyes, (not found in any other owl species) short rounded ear tufts, and grey overall with streaks of black and reddish brown body feathers. The Flammulated owl prefers an open habitat dominated by Douglas fir and some Ponderosa Pine.  It is a cavity nester, taking the excavated hole of a woodpecker, often where a limb has been broken away at the trunk of the tree and frequently north facing. The nest usually contains 2 eggs. The placing of bird boxes for these owls is often taken over by Northern Flying Squirrels who also adore old woodpecker holes as their nesting site. These birds arrive late April or early May and leave in late August or early September. They feed primarily on flying insects such as moths, beetles and katydids.  They are a difficult bird to see anytime, but in the right habitat they can be heard calling for hours. Virginia Rail- This was an exciting observation in Penticton of a male Virginia Rail answering to a taped call at the edge of a pond. They are normally very secretive birds feeding in bulrushes and cattails and although uncommon in winter they can be found in ditches and spring fed ponds. Besides their harsh call they often clack the beak to attract a mate. They measure 9.5 inches and weigh 3 ounces, and have long orange beak, orange legs, dark brown streaked above grey face and reddish underparts. The nest is constructed of old dead bullrushes, near the edge of dense marsh vegetation, laying an average of 4 to 9 eggs. They feed on plants and insects.   Pat Westheuser, Central Okanagan Naturalist Club

 

Next >