[ValleyNature] Short-eared Owl feathers

[Harold Forsyth]

Hi all,

Some of you may be interested in this:

REQUEST FOR SHORT-EARED OWL FEATHERS: We are investigating Short-eared Owl movement patterns in North America and are asking for feathers for stable isotope analysis from anyone who may be conducting Short-eared Owl research, or who may experience incidental encounters through banding or road kills. Based on inspection of museum specimens and consultation of several North American and European references, it appears that P1 is the first feather molted, and therefore would have the highest probability of recording the isotopic signature of the summer location. Thus, a small sample of vane tissue (i.e., 1-2 cm2) from the lagging, proximal edge of P1 would be ideal, so as to limit impacts on flight. If a molt limit is obvious, samples from all apparent generations would be valuable, as would photo documentation, as this may allow for the determination of up to three previous summer locations. Samples from juveniles are particularly valuable to verify the Short-eared Owl isotopic signature against existing maps, and while P1 is again preferable, the age of the owl may dictate that a contour feather be collected instead. If you are interested in providing feather samples for this study, please contact KRISTEN KEYES (EM: kristen at migrationresearch.org).
 
Dave Shutler

 
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