About This Project

The presence of Flammulated Owls indicates ecosystem health in the Rocky Mountains. In the fall, "flams" leave their northern breeding grounds to over-winter in Central America, relying on islands of pine forest to sustain them along the way. Researchers still don't know exactly where these stopover habitats are. GPS devices attached to individual flams show precise locations of migratory birds during their fall and spring migration.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Flammulated owls are obligate cavity nesters that occupy old-growth ponderosa pine forests (Linkhart and Reynolds 1997). Their habitat use is greatly restricted, making them susceptible to small environmental changes. Even in environments that fit their habitat requirements, flammulated owls are rarely found (Wright et al 1997). Thus, the population dynamics of flammulated owls are important indications of overall ecosystem health.

A recent study has revealed the wintering grounds of flammulated owls in Central America (Linkhart 2016). Like many neotropical migrants, we predict that flammulated owls rely on specific stopover locations to make long-distance migration successful. However, nothing is known about the precise locations of these stopover sites.

What is the significance of this project?

Stopover sites are crucial for neotropical migrants to survive fall and spring migration (Buler and Moore 2011). Yet, because nothing is known about flammulated owl stopover locations, we are unable to direct any conservation efforts toward preserving these landscapes.

This study uses GPS PinPoint devices attached to individual flammulated owls in their breeding grounds immediately before they depart for fall migration. The devices will collect data points each day of migration and place the birds at exact locations along their migration routes. With this data, conservationists can finally begin assessing habitat quality of stopover locations, which are not only necessary for the success of flammulated owls, but of hundreds of neotropical migratory birds species.

What are the goals of the project?

Through this project, we hope to identify several important stopover locations used by owls during migration. Researchers will attach GPS devices in September and October. During this time, male owls defend their territories in hopes of reoccupying them during the next breeding season. These are the individuals we will target, as they are the most likely to return to the study site during the next breeding season.

Meanwhile, individual owls of all ages and sexes will be captured and measured. Data on mass, feather length, molt patterns, and behavior shed important insight on the population-level and individual-level dynamics of migration preparation.

Upon recapturing GPS birds next summer, researchers will finally have evidence of stopover habitat and timing for flammulated owls.