Sounds

A second team completed an MOMP owl survey in the Unity area. That team will report here as time permits.

Our local barred owl was here briefly early in the morning or 3 APRIL, but we have not seen it since then. With snow receding around the base of large trees, adequate food is perhaps available in more typical woodland habitat. Average snow depth is still 40 cm in our woodlot, but the range is from 75 cm in sheltered cool spots to bare ground around the bases of some trees.

Several MOMP owlers from the Thursday survey commented to me that they slept in a cozy warm bed until late morning after the 21-4-B survey. I arrived home at 0450 hours, slept until 0605, and was back to the laboratory at 0726. Then again at home I fell asleep on the couch at 1700 while reading the paper. I went to bed early for a long winter night's sleep. No daytime owl sightings late in the day Thursday. No owls to report today.

Ten chilled observers completed the annual survey of MOMP route 21-4-B from Unity Plantation to Clinton during the early morning of 3 APRIL 2008. Three great-horned owls and 7 barred owls were tallied at 6 of the survey sites. The sky was clear and bright with many small meteors observed throughout the survey. Temperature ranged from -3C to 0C with windchills to -10C. Wind was calm at two stops, variable at seven stops with some strong gusts, and extreme at one stop where the wind noise interfered with effective listening.