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Owl Research Institute, Audubon Park, LA (2026)

09/22/2026

We started our annual Northern Saw-whet Owl Fall Migration study at Flathead Lake on September 8th. Sorry for the lack of updates, we’ve been too busy catching owls!! The season started off strong right from the start, we averaged 10 owls per night, more than in any of our last 4 seasons at this site. The first owl shown here is our 100th Saw-whet banded this season. With so many birds in hand sometimes they even help out recording data! We’ll continue to share updates from the station as long as we aren’t too busy banding.

All banding, marking and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the US Geological Survey’s BBL.

09/10/2026

Come see us this Saturday at the Birds of Prey Festival at Lone Pine State Park, near Kalispell, MT! See live birds of prey including OWLS, guest speakers, face painting, and drop by our educational booth to say hello.

08/19/2026

End of Our Series: The Whiskered Screech-Owl (WHOW) is a small owl of the mountainous regions of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Its name comes from the distinctive bristle-like feathers around its bill. These rictal bristles are sensitive to touch and may help protect the owl’s eyes and face while moving through dense vegetation or handling prey. Their exact function, however, is still not fully understood. Like the Eastern Screech-Owl, it can occur in a rufous color morph, although individuals can also show grayish plumage. The species is closely associated with riparian forests, pine woodlands, and other mature vegetation in mountainous landscapes. Habitat loss and degradation can reduce suitable nesting habitat, particularly when large cavity-bearing trees are removed. Human disturbance at nests is also a concern, as repeated visits, playback or imitations, strong lights, flash photography, and other disturbances can disrupt normal nesting behavior and potentially reduce productivity. The species has also been documented in vehicle collisions. Despite these challenges, the WHOW remains relatively understudied, and much about its ecology is still poorly known.

Its names and voice connect the WHOW to different traditions within its range from the southwestern United States through Mexico and Central America. In Mexico, it is known as the tecolote rítmico, or “rhythmic owl,” reflecting its regularly patterned hoots. Other regional names include Honduras’s buhito chillón bigotudo and Nicaragua’s tecolotito manchado, emphasizing its voice, whiskered face, or mottled plumage. In contemporary American birding culture, the owl’s unusual sequence of long and short notes is often compared to Morse code, making its voice a memorable feature of the Madrean mountain forests.

This has been a fun series, please share below what you found to be the most interesting of any of the 19 species of Owls in North America?

A BIG THANK YOU for the art and cultural insights provided by .paul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

08/18/2026

Western Screech-Owls (WESOs) are small but highly adaptable owls found throughout western North America, inhabiting a wide variety of environments, from open woodlands and deserts to urban parks and residential areas. They can be difficult to distinguish from the Eastern Screech-Owl, but their distributions, vocalizations, and bill color provide useful clues for ID. Despite its name, the WESO's call is not a typical screech, but a series of notes that resembles a bouncing ball. One of North America’s smallest owls, it is nevertheless capable of hunting an incredibly diverse range of prey, including carpenter ants, crayfish, rodents, and small birds. Its ability to adapt to some human-modified environments has helped it persist in many areas, but it still depends on suitable nesting cavities and habitat features such as mature trees and riparian areas. Other threats include the removal of standing dead trees, which provide important nesting sites, and ongoing habitat alteration. In parts of the West, WESOs face increasing competition from expanding Barred Owl populations, which may affect access to territories and nesting cavities.

Because the Western Screech-Owl is native to western North America, its species-related cultural meanings are best traced through Canada, the United States, and Mexico. In south-central British Columbia, Secwépemc people have regarded screech-owls as messengers and traditionally left them undisturbed. In Mexico, the bird is called tecolote occidental: tecolote derives from the Nahuatl tecolotl, a culturally significant name for owls whose nocturnal calls could signify ominous events, hidden knowledge, or supernatural transformation—beliefs concerning owls broadly rather than this species alone. Interestingly, despite its English name, the Western Screech-Owl usually produces an accelerating series of whistles or trills rather than a true screech, and its voice helped ornithologists distinguish it from the Eastern Screech-Owl.

Artwork and cultural insights provided by Camellia Paul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

08/17/2026

Happy Nonprofit Day! The Spotted Owl is strongly associated with mature and old-growth forests of western North America, with 3 subspecies: the Northern, California, and Mexican Spotted Owls. Similar in appearance, they do differ in distribution, habitat associations, and conservation status. The Northern and Mexican Spotted Owls are listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, while the Northern Spotted Owl is also listed as Endangered in Canada. The CA Spotted Owl is considered a Species of Special Concern in California. All three subspecies face habitat loss from logging and forest alteration, while wildfire and habitat fragmentation add further challenges. The expanding Barred Owl is also a major concern, competing with Spotted Owls for food, territories, and nesting sites. Northern Spotted Owls continue to show declining demographic trends, some CA populations are declining despite existing protections, and the Mexican subspecies is particularly affected by changes in forest management. Conservation efforts focus on protecting mature forests, large trees, and suitable nesting and roosting habitat, but recovery remains challenging where populations are small or declining.

The Spotted Owl has become both a spiritual figure and a powerful modern cultural symbol across its North American range. In British Columbia, the Spô’zêm Nation regards Spotted Owls as messengers between this world and the spirit world, embodying guardianship and deep spiritual connection. Canada’s recovery strategy acknowledges the species’ profound significance to some Indigenous peoples. In the United States, the Northern Spotted Owl became an emblem of the Pacific Northwest’s late-twentieth-century “Timber Wars,” representing the conflict between conserving old-growth forests and protecting timber-dependent livelihoods. In Mexico, the species is called búho manchado, or “spotted owl.”

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Art and insights provided by Camellia Paul , Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

08/16/2026

Snowy Owls are adapted to survive in some of the coldest environments on Earth. They breed across the Arctic tundra of North America and Eurasia, where their white plumage provides camouflage in snowy landscapes. They have become one of the most recognizable owls in popular culture, gaining worldwide fame through Hedwig, Harry Potter’s companion. Highly nomadic outside the breeding season, some Snowy Owls travel thousands of kilometers during winter irruptions, reaching regions far south of their typical range. This is why news stories sometimes feature Snowy Owls appearing at airports or other unexpected places — and no, they are not looking for a flight to Hogwarts! The species is highly dependent on lemming availability, as population fluctuations of these rodents strongly influence breeding success. Snowy Owls face several challenges, including climate change, human disturbance, and reduced quality of breeding and wintering habitats. Recent assessments indicate population declines in several regions, leading to the species being classified as Vulnerable globally.

The Snowy Owl carries meanings that range from Arctic origin stories to modern popular culture. In Yup’ik and Iñupiat storytelling from Alaska, Raven and Snowy Owl were originally white; while painting one another, Raven marked Owl with dark spots, but the impatient Owl poured lamp oil over Raven. This explains why Raven became black ever since and the Snowy Owl retained its pale plumage. In Canada, ukpik—the Inuktitut word for Snowy Owl—inspired the sealskin Ookpik doll created by Inuk artist Jeannie Snowball, which became an internationally recognized emblem of Inuit art and northern Canadian identity during the 1960s. In central Finland, the unexpected appearance of a Snowy Owl was traditionally interpreted as a sign that winter was approaching.

Artwork and cultural insights provided by Camellia Paul , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

08/15/2026

Found in much of North America, Short-eared Owls (SEOWs) are close relatives of Long-eared Owls and can sometimes be hard to tell apart. Key identification features include habitat preference, breast streaking patterns, and the length of their “ear tufts,” which are feathers and have no role in hearing. Unlike many owls, SEOWs are often active during daylight hours, especially at dawn and dusk. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, particularly voles, which are an important food source in grassland ecosystems. Habitat loss remains one of the greatest threats to Short-eared Owls, as grasslands continue to decline across North America, with only about 38% of historical grassland habitat remaining. One fascinating behavior that sets SEOWs apart from many other owl species is their courtship flight. During this aerial display, males combine acrobatics, sounds, and territorial signals to attract females and establish their presence. You can learn more about this on our YouTube channel.

The Short-eared Owl carries an assortment of cultural meanings across its unusually broad range. In Hawaiian tradition, the endemic subspecies known as the pueo may embody an ‘aumākua, or ancestral guardian, and is especially associated with protection during danger or battle. Among Yup’ik peoples of Alaska’s Bering Sea region, Short-eared Owl faces appeared on hunting implements and charms, invoking the predator’s strength, speed, and spiritual assistance. Another Lower Yukon story explains the owl’s flat face and tiny beak through the transformation of a frightened girl who collided with a house upon being transformed into a bird. In Britain, migrating Short-eared Owls were historically called “woodcock owls” as they arrived alongside woodcocks, and an old belief even imagined tiny goldcrests crossing the sea concealed within the owls’ plumage. In Chile, the name nuco, derived from Mapudungun nuku, preserves an Indigenous name for the species in contemporary ornithological culture.
Artwork and cultural insights provided by Camellia Paul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

08/14/2026

This is probably the owl that gets the most “awwws” from volunteers in the field or showing a photo during a presentation. Small and adorable, the Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO) is one of the smallest owl species in North America. The species is notable for its migratory behavior. Northern populations generally migrate south in fall, while others are resident or make shorter movements. NSWO's differ in migration between the sexes: females generally migrate farther south than males, while males are more likely to stay closer to the breeding range. These small owls feed primarily on mice and voles, although their diet varies across their range. Shrews can make up more than half of the diet in some areas, while birds and insects are taken less frequently. Habitat loss, particularly the degradation of mature and old-growth forests and the removal of snags, can reduce the availability of suitable nesting cavities essential for successful reproduction.

The name of the Northern Saw-whet Owl itself preserves cultural history. The rhythmic toot-toot-toot that gives the species its name—was once compared to the sound of sharpening a saw on a whetstone, a familiar auditory reference in the 19th century. In a Menominee origin story from the United States, Totoba, the Saw-whet Owl, contests Wapus the rabbit over whether darkness or daylight should govern the world; daylight wins, but night is granted an essential place, making the owl part of a story about cosmic balance rather than simple misfortune. A tradition historically attributed to the Innu, formerly called Montagnais, of Quebec describes the Saw-whet Owl as once enormous and proud of its voice; after attempting to rival the roar of a waterfall, it was transformed into a tiny owl whose song resembles dripping water. On Haida Gwaii in Canada, the endemic brooksi subspecies has particular cultural significance: the Haida of Cumshewa are known as St’awaas Xaaydgaay, meaning “Saw-whet Owl People.”

Artwork and cultural insights provided by Camellia Paul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

08/13/2026

The Northern Pygmy-Owl is a small but highly effective predator. Birds are an important component of its diet, including chickadees, kinglets, nuthatches, wrens, sparrows, warblers, finches, thrushes, and even woodpeckers. It has also been documented preying on hummingbirds and jays. Unlike most owl species, the Northern Pygmy-Owl is primarily active during the day, when many of its avian prey are also active. This overlap in activity periods may facilitate encounters with diurnal birds, although a direct relationship between its daytime activity and avian prey selection has not been established. One of its most distinctive features is the pair of false eyes on the back of its head. These markings may help confuse or deter potential predators approaching from behind. The main threats to Northern Pygmy-Owls are the loss of mature, structurally complex forests due to severe wildfires, as well as logging and conversion of forests for agriculture and other human uses.

Its name and unusual appearance of the Northern Pygmy-Owl carry cultural resonance across several countries. In Mexico, it is called tecolote serrano, or “mountain owl.” European names of this owl evoke a more playful image: German Gnomenkauz and Norwegian Gnomugle both liken the tiny bird to a gnome. In Canadian and American nature culture, its small size, fierce hunting, and apparent “eyes in the back of its head”—two dark, white-bordered nape patches—have made it an emblem of deceptive appearances and unexpected strength. Songbirds often gather noisily to mob it during daylight, and birders may follow this commotion to locate the otherwise elusive Northern Pygmy-Owl.

Artwork and cultural insights provided by Camellia Paul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

08/12/2026

Primarily diurnal, the fierce Northern Hawk Owl is one of the most distinctive owl species, with a unique appearance and behavior that resemble those of hawks. It breeds across the northern forests of North America and Eurasia, inhabiting open coniferous forests, forest edges, and areas with clearings that provide suitable hunting perches. Its diet consists mainly of small mammals during the breeding season, but birds may become an important food source during winter when rodent availability is low. Northern Hawk Owls are highly adapted to northern environments and can remain in their breeding range year-round, although some individuals move south during years of low prey availability. These irregular movements, known as irruptions, can bring the species to areas where it is rarely seen. Protecting large areas of intact boreal forest is essential for the conservation of this unique owl. Potential threats include habitat loss, human disturbance and collisions.

Myths about the Northern Hawk-Owl are scarce, but its cultural history appears in the names and ecological knowledge of peoples across its northern range. In Northern Sámi it is called Sáhpánskuolfi, while the Finnish name hiiripöllö means “mouse owl,” reflecting its close relationship with rodent populations. A historical study of Sámi nature knowledge records that the owl was hunted since it was regarded as an enemy of the Siberian Jay, demonstrating how it was understood as a participant in the relationships of the northern forest rather than merely as a supernatural omen. In Russia, its name yastrebinaya sova, or “hawk owl,” arises from its hawk-like appearance, swift flight, and unusual habit of hunting visibly during daylight.

Artwork and cultural insights provided by Camellia Paul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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