Summer Highlights as a Western Screech-Owl Field Technician

Last summer I had the amazing opportunity to work as a field technician on a project researching Western Screech-owls throughout the Okanagan. For me, it was not only the first time I got to spend a summer in the Okanagan, but it was also my very first fieldwork position working with wildlife. My summer ended up filled with new experiences and the additional task of dealing with a steep, hands-on learning curve where I was able to develop many valuable skills. It seemed as though every day there was a chance to see, learn, or try something new, which quickly became my favourite part of the job.

Avery Stashko holding an adult Western Screech-owl

One of the best aspects of the job was being constantly surrounded by wildlife. Whether we were out searching for screech-owl nests or doing vegetation surveys, we were spending entire days outdoors observing and noticing parts of the ecosystems that I never had before. I began to notice the small details and patterns in an ecosystem and understood it in a way that can’t be taught in a classroom. There are many species at risk in the Okanagan that we were lucky enough to see, including the Great Basin Spadefoot, Rubber Boa, and of course, the Western Screech-owl. Getting a chance to see these species, and getting to know the screech-owls, felt very special.

A photo of a Great Basin Spadefoot,

Spea intermontana

Working with a nocturnal species often meant we were out in these areas at night, which brought these ecosystems into a whole new perspective. I learned to depend on my hearing to know what was happening around me and I became much better at noticing and recognizing sounds, even in the daylight. At first, it was a little scary. We depend a lot on our vision to interact with our surroundings, so it took a while to adjust. I remember one of the first field nights, it was very difficult to hear because we were walking close to a loud, rushing river and it was one of the first times I had to depend on light from a headlamp to see. I felt very vulnerable with my senses being so limited. However, as the summer went on and I spent more time in the forest at night, I began to realize that aside from the absence of light, not much actually changes. You have to adjust to relying on different senses at night, but once you adjust, the night is welcoming and an exciting time to be outside.

My favourite night on the job was one of our trapping nights in the South Okanagan. We had gotten the chance to meet a few of the owls from this nest site, as we had already fit two of the chicks with VHF radio tags before they had fledged at the beginning of June. They became known as Milk Dud and Eatmore. A little over a month later, we went back to the site to see if we could trap and tag another one of the chicks from this nest. We were able to pick up a signal for Milk Dud using the receiver and followed it down into a gully below where the nest was previously located. We set up a mist net in a clearing with the forest towering on either side and waited for the sun to set. A mist net is made of a fine polyester mesh suspended between two poles, somewhat resembling a volleyball net, that captures the owls when they fly into it. As it grew darker and we started broadcasting a male owl call to lure in the chicks to the net, the quiet forest suddenly came to life. The adult screech-owls began to sing in response, and the chicks chimed in soon thereafter. Rapidly the quiet forest from a few moments earlier turned into a spectacular owl frenzy and soon the owls were all around us, with the chicks chittering as they

fluttered from tree to tree. We had to rely on our hearing instead of our vision to keep track of the owls in the darkness, which makes you feel as if you are a part of the forest. That night we were able to trap one of the adults, our previously tagged chick Milk Dud, and another chick who received a tag and the name Twix. It was amazing to see how large and healthy Milk Dud had become since the first time we had been there and was very exciting to have another owl to track.

An immature Western Screech-owl named Milk Dud

My time on the Western screech-owl project allowed me to learn so much, not just about that amazing species, but about what it is like to work day and night in the outdoors. I consider it to be one of the best ways I could have spent a summer gaining valuable skills and having irreplaceable experiences.