siena_story_spottedowls-3645
Multiple barred owls lie in wait for processing after they were lured in and shot as part of a culling effort to help protect northern spotted owls. By the early 2000s, barred owls had made their way from the eastern United States through to the Pacific Northwest, where the bold owl has been outcompeting northern spotted owls in almost every way. They are more aggressive, more territorial, able to use more types of forest habitat and eat more food and hybridize with northern spotted owls when they don't kill or kick them out. Biologist Mark Higley, working for the Hoopa Valley Tribe, takes as much data as he can from each body, even if scientists don't know what questions to ask, yet. As he worked, another owl called from the darkness. Sometimes, "it's like a conveyer belt," he said. This night, he took three from the forests around Hoopa Valley, Cali.