[mou] Re: Owls/people and etc..
Chris Fagyal
Chris.Fagyal@udlp.com
Tue, 11 Jan 2005 14:36:32 -0600
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I think the real determining factors involved in situation assessment
for animals are being dismissed, forgotten, or just aren't understood by
many. Most animals (predatory or otherwise) tend to ignore what they do
not perceive to be threats. They tend to tense up or flee when
threatened or if they feel that their ability to survive is compromised
(or in this case their ability to hunt). Great Greys for example, will
generally move if you are loud, leave your car running, bang into
something, talk continously to someone etc. All of these activities
impair its ability to hear which impair its ability to hunt. Northern
Hawk-Owl (NHOW) behaviour seems a bit more erratic, or just less
predictable, as i've had NHOW's that flew as soon as a car pulls up, and
i've had NHOW's that would stay on the same perch for hours (One this
weekend was on the same perch in the same position 3 hours after I first
viewed it. I wondered if the Owl ever moved, or if it just liked that
spot and said to hell with the people looking at me, i'm staying here!)
Their responses more than likely have nothing to do with a perceived
"knowledge" of what a human or a car or a train or whatever is. Much
more likely is that their responses are based on perceived threats or
disutrbances, or lack thereof. If I am sitting quietly in a car which
is turned off, and thus I am not causing any disturbance to habitat, or
any noise, I am perceived as a) not a disturbance which inhibits hunting
and b) not a threat to wellbeing and thus I am ignored. If, however, I
bump into something and make a loud sound, instantly the Owl stares
right at me, because now I have made a disturbance which at that moment
in time either a) inhibitted hunting or b) disturbed the Owl (or any
other animal you may want to relate this to) or c) startled the Owl
causing it to perceive a threat.
Several of us this winter have had some pretty magical experiences with
Great Greys which would seem to prove out these facts. I have had on a
few occasions Owls fly to within a few feet of me, perch on a
sign/tree/whatever, and successfully catch and eat a vole within 6 feet
of me. Many of these times the Owls flew from farther away to a
distance closer to me. To me, this signals a level of comfort and a
measure of trust. The Owls, in each case, were within 20-25 feet of me,
knew I was there, and yet flew closer to me after a period of time and
continued their daily activities, whether it be hunting (as in the above
noted instances) or even just napping/resting/roosting/whatever. The
Owl would have flown off to a further tree to hunt if it felt a)
disturbed, or b) endangered. These same reactions can be applied almost
unilaterally to most all bird species. If you approach a bird to view
it, and it flushes/flies away, you have disturbed it, and it felt its
safety was endagered and thus it flew to what it felt was a safe
distance. Some species of birds are more fearless than others. Some
are much more apt to flush and fly away.
Even within the Owl kingdom this phenomenon is very well known.
Long-eared Owls, for example, are generally very skittish and flighty
(Note how absolutely zero Long-eared Owl roosts ever make it to the list
server? Find that interesting? Would you also find interesting how many
Long-eared Owls were found roosting in MN in the past? I bet you
would....and you'd be surprised too probably...). Some real knowledge
and patience is required to view them and not disturb/flush them.
However, Northern Saw-Whet Owls, for example (and Great Grey's as well
as Northern Hawk-Owls fit into this category) are pretty fearless.
Hummingbirds as an entire family of birds are amongst the "fearless"
ones as well, unless they see something they feel is a predator, at
which time they disappear en masse and chatter up a storm! But if
you've ever been to anywhere in the tropics, or even to SE Arizona,
you've probably had the pretty amazing experience of having hummingbirds
zoom by your head and even maybe had their wings clip you on occasion,
as they have little fear of people (we aren't perceived as a threat)
The above sorts of things should be considered when one is trying to
understand animal behavior.
Chris Fagyal
Senior Software Engineer
United Defense, L.P. ASD
Fridley, MN
(763) 572-5320
chris.fagyal@udlp.com
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<BODY style="MARGIN-TOP: 2px; FONT: 8pt Tahoma; MARGIN-LEFT: 2px">I think
the real determining factors involved in situation assessment for animals are
being dismissed, forgotten, or just aren't understood by many. Most
animals (predatory or otherwise) tend to ignore what they do not perceive to be
threats. They tend to tense up or flee when threatened or if they feel
that their ability to survive is compromised (or in this case their ability to
hunt). Great Greys for example, will generally move if you are loud, leave
your car running, bang into something, talk continously to someone etc.
All of these activities impair its ability to hear which impair its ability to
hunt. Northern Hawk-Owl (NHOW) behaviour seems a bit more erratic, or just
less predictable, as i've had NHOW's that flew as soon as a car pulls up, and
i've had NHOW's that would stay on the same perch for hours (One this weekend
was on the same perch in the same position 3 hours after I first viewed
it. I wondered if the Owl ever moved, or if it just liked that spot and
said to hell with the people looking at me, i'm staying here!)
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Their responses more than likely have nothing to do with a perceived
"knowledge" of what a human or a car or a train or whatever is. Much more
likely is that their responses are based on perceived threats or disutrbances,
or lack thereof. If I am sitting quietly in a car which is turned off, and
thus I am not causing any disturbance to habitat, or any noise, I am perceived
as a) not a disturbance which inhibits hunting and b) not a threat to wellbeing
and thus I am ignored. If, however, I bump into something and make a loud
sound, instantly the Owl stares right at me, because now I have made a
disturbance which at that moment in time either a) inhibitted hunting or b)
disturbed the Owl (or any other animal you may want to relate this to) or c)
startled the Owl causing it to perceive a threat.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Several of us this winter have had some pretty magical experiences with
Great Greys which would seem to prove out these facts. I have had on
a few occasions Owls fly to within a few feet of me, perch on a
sign/tree/whatever, and successfully catch and eat a vole within 6 feet of
me. Many of these times the Owls flew from farther away to a distance
closer to me. To me, this signals a level of comfort and a measure of
trust. The Owls, in each case, were within 20-25 feet of me, knew I was
there, and yet flew closer to me after a period of time and continued their
daily activities, whether it be hunting (as in the above noted instances) or
even just napping/resting/roosting/whatever. The Owl would have flown off
to a further tree to hunt if it felt a) disturbed, or b) endangered. These
same reactions can be applied almost unilaterally to most all bird
species. If you approach a bird to view it, and it flushes/flies away, you
have disturbed it, and it felt its safety was endagered and thus it flew to what
it felt was a safe distance. Some species of birds are more fearless than
others. Some are much more apt to flush and fly away. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Even within the Owl kingdom this phenomenon is very well known.
Long-eared Owls, for example, are generally very skittish and flighty (Note how
absolutely zero Long-eared Owl roosts ever make it to the list server?
Find that interesting? Would you also find interesting how many Long-eared Owls
were found roosting in MN in the past? I bet you would....and you'd be
surprised too probably...). Some real knowledge and patience is required
to view them and not disturb/flush them. However, Northern Saw-Whet Owls,
for example (and Great Grey's as well as Northern Hawk-Owls fit into this
category) are pretty fearless. Hummingbirds as an entire family of birds
are amongst the "fearless" ones as well, unless they see something they feel is
a predator, at which time they disappear en masse and chatter up a storm!
But if you've ever been to anywhere in the tropics, or even to SE Arizona,
you've probably had the pretty amazing experience of having hummingbirds zoom by
your head and even maybe had their wings clip you on occasion, as they have
little fear of people (we aren't perceived as a threat)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The above sorts of things should be considered when one is trying to
understand animal behavior.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Chris Fagyal<BR>Senior Software Engineer<BR>United Defense,
L.P. ASD<BR>Fridley, MN <BR>(763) 572-5320<BR><A
href="mailto:chris.fagyal@udlp.com">chris.fagyal@udlp.com</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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