Spotted Owl
The Spotted Owl lives in old growth forests and nowhere else, which made it a poster child for environmentalists opposed to old growth logging. The mottled brown feathers make good camouflage when it is sleeping during the day. At night, it hunts Northern Flying Squirrels and Bushy-Tailed Woodrats, along with other small mammals and insects.
where it lives
The spotted owl needs large ranges of old growth forest to nest and forage in.
conservation concern
This owl is red listed, meaning its at high risk for extinction. This is mainly due to the loss of adequate old growth forest habitat which is the result of timber harvesting. Spotted Owls were placed on the Endangered Species List in 1986 with only a few hundred remaining but their population continues to decline today. It’s estimated there are less than 30 of these owls left in BC. According to Canada’s Spotted Owl recovery strategy, the destruction of old growth habitat and fragmentation of remaining habitat prevents these owls from surviving and recovering.
Sources
- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Birds of Canada
- Hoar
- DeSmet
- Campbell and Kennedy
- BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer
