Applegater Summer 2017
11
BIRD EXPLORER
The elusive Barn Owl
BY PETER J. THIEMANN
The Barn Owl is a species that lives
in the Applegate Valley and on every
continent except Antarctica. It is mainly
a tropical and subtropical bird that has
expanded its range northward, often
following human land development.
True to its name, we can find this
nocturnal owl in our barns, roosting or
nesting in roof timbers in daytime. Go to
Hanley Farm in Central Point and ask to
visit their big barn—you will most likely
see one or more Barn Owls.
Barn Owl guarding cave entrance.
As an image hunter, I have been
frustrated by this species, simply because
there is often no light when they are out
hunting mice and other rodents. When
they are roosting or nesting, it is always
dark, and I don’t like to use a flash or other
disturbing lighting.
But there was an exception one day.
While climbing up a mountain cliff to look
for a nesting Prairie Falcon, I discovered
right next to the falcon’s nest a small
A pair of nesting Barn Owls.
cave entrance
with a Barn Owl
guarding it.
With good
light, here
was finally my
Peter J. Thiemann
opportunity to
capture this elusive night owl with my
camera. Not wanting to disturb what
appeared to be a nesting owl, and not being
able to see into the cave, I had to guess
if there was a nest. But then, on another
visit, I observed two Barn Owls at the cave
entrance—a sure sign of a nesting pair.
What struck me most was the fairy-
tale quality of my Barn Owl images with
lichen-covered rocks and this mysterious
dark cave entrance!
In Chapter 13 of my book, Great Gray
Owl in California, Oregon, and Washington
(available on Amazon), there is more about
our fascination with owls. We have all
heard about the folklore surrounding these
mysterious creatures of the night that fly
and kill silently. Often the only sound is
the death cry of its prey.
Peter J. Thiemann
peterjthiemann@gmail.com
Photos courtesy of Peter J. Thiemann flickr
photo stream.
Wiggle your toes in the river
and think lampreys
The Applegate Partnership and
Watershed Council is working with
local biologists and organizations to help
understand lamprey eels and their habitat
in the Applegate Watershed. If you have
any stories or historical observations
about lampreys in the Applegate River
and its tributaries, we would love to hear
from you. Email us at contact@apwc.
info or drop by our office at 6941 Upper
Applegate Road in Ruch.
Here is information about lamprey eels
from an article in the winter 2017 issue of
The Confluence (Rogue River Watershed
Council newsletter) written by Stewart
Reid, PhD, an independent conservation
biologist who has been working with
lampreys for close to 20 years.
Lampreys begin life as eyelash-sized
ammocoetes (larvae), with no eyes or teeth.
Ammocoetes burrow in fine sediments,
where they are abundant, but rarely seen,
and are filter feeders,
living on the suspended
microorganisms in
the water. They play
important roles as
water cleaners and
bioturbators, or
mixers, of bottom
sediments. This goes
on for five to seven years, with ammocoetes
growing close to pencil size. So, when you
look at a sandy or silty stream bottom
between your toes, think lampreys.
When ready, ammocoetes transform,
growing eyes, teeth and a sucker mouth,
but they don’t start feeding yet. They swim
to sea, where young lampreys begin to feed,
growing up to two and a half feet. Then
they come back, but not necessarily to
their birth stream. Instead, they look for
any suitable stream, as long as it smells like
ammocoetes, which the Rogue River does.
This lets them know that it’s a good place to
spawn. In fresh water, adults stop feeding,
swim upstream, then hide under cover to
prepare for spawning. This usually takes
almost a year, using up body reserves—
females shrink a quarter of their length.
In spring, males and females build
shallow nests, or redds, moving and
arranging rocks with their mouths. After
spawning, adults die, settling on the
bottom, contributing rich bodies full of
marine nutrients to the rivers in which
their young will rear.
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY
