I was hoping Dr. Johnson would have posted something about this bird but he
hasn't so I guess I will take a shot at it.

I was informed of the birds presence at 0845 PST by Diane Weber (Thanks,
Diane), so I rushed off there instead of going to school. I arrived at Wes
Clemente's at about 0930 and met Wes. He told me all about what the bird
had done on Sunday but he hadn't seen the bird all morning. Dr. Johnson
arrived shortly after I did and was followed by Kevin Pullen and Martha (or
Martie, I'm terrible with names!). At about the same time, Charles Swift
re-appeared after checking the Oroville farm. We decided to check the
property of Les Boyd, just south of Clemente's place across Airport Road.

Dr. Johnson knows Les Boyd and tried to get permission from Mr. Boyd for us
to trespass. However, he couldn't be located so we spoke to one of his

(I think his name was Wes). He gave us permission to walk around the main
house and out to the willows behind the horse pasture but to stay away from
the falcon barns (Les breeds falcons) because some of the early breeders

easily disturbed.

We walked all around the house and didn't find the bird. At that point,
Charles had to return to Moscow. We decided to go down to the willows. We
were scoping out the willows from the side of the patch near the building
they are working on and were beginning to get discouraged. Dr. Johnson
walked around to the end of the clump of willows and pines and found the

perched in one of the pines at the end of the clump. It was about seven
feet above the ground in the second or third ponderosa pine. If you
continued along the edge of the clump, the owl can be seen against the

of the pine tree. It is incredibly tame and will allow a relatively close
approach.

We left the owl about 1130 PST and another birder was coming in. I

to the area at 1315 with my husband so he could see the bird. It was still
there and had two birdwatchers photographing it. One was Tom Munson and I
didn't catch the name of the second gentleman.

If you come to see this bird, please be considerate of the Boyd's. This is
there home and place of business. Don't block any of the numerous doors to
the barns and don't black the driveway. Please be sure to ask before you
walk out the willows and do not go any where near the falcon barns without
permission.

It might be possible to see the owl from Airport Road, particularly during
the late afternoon when it hunts the fields for voles. Just be careful of
the traffic; there isn't much of a shoulder and can be quit busy at times.

Cheers
Deb

Deb Beutler
School of Biological Sciences
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-4236

dbeutler@...