Connecticut volunteers needed for owl research project

May 5, 2:51 PMConnecticut Nature ExaminerJeff Serena

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Barred owl. Photo courtesy D. Gordon E. Robertson.

Researchers at the Mianus River Gorge Preserve in Bedford, New York, are enlisting volunteers to conduct a survey of barred owls and Eastern screech-owls in Westchester and Putnam counties in New York and Fairfield County, Connecticut. The project, whimsically called “Who’s Whoo-ing in Your Backyard,” is part of a larger effort to understand the distribution, interaction, and habitat of owls in the urban-rural corridor from New York City north to the Great Swamp in Putnam Country and to rural parts of northern Fairfield County.

To participate, you don’t need to be an owl expert or even a birdwatcher. The time commitment is very small. There’s no travel involved. But you will need a boom box that will play a CD.

In broad outline, here’s how it works. On six nights over a three-month season, you’ll go outside after dark—the exact hour doesn’t matter—point your boom box away from your house, and play a sound recording of either a barred owl or an Eastern screech-owl. Owls are territorial, and if there’s one around, it’s likely to reply. If you hear a reply that sounds like the recording, you’ll record some basic information about your observation on a form provided by the project, and either mail or e-mail it to the research team. You can download the recordings on the project web site and burn a CD, or if your home computer doesn’t have that capability, you can request a copy of the CD from the project team.

If you live in the project area and if talking to owls sounds like fun, e-mail the research team at owlcall@mianus.org or call the Mianus River Gorge Preserve at 914-234-9412. Prospective volunteers can attend one of a series of short orientation programs being held at nature preserves and state parks over this month (see the schedule on the project web site), or one of the researchers can talk you through the simple research protocols over the phone.