Twenty-nine owl responses were heard of which nine were boreals. The 

 remaining species and numbers heard were saw-whet (6) , great gray (2) , and 

 great horned owls ( Bubo virginianus ) (12). The nine boreal responses were 

 heard in seven different locations (Appendix II) . Results suggest that of the 

 nine boreals heard, eight were different owls (See owl observation forms in 

 Appendix III) . 



Of the eight different boreal owls heard, five were located on three 

 survey routes on the Sula District. Two were heard on the Meadow Creek route, 

 two on the Lost Trail Pass route, and one on the Gibbon Trail route. Two were 

 heard on the Wisdom District: one on the Skinner Meadows route and one on the 

 Chief Joseph Pass route. The one boreal located on the Wise River District was 

 heard on the Bryant Creek route. Seven of the nine total responses were 

 elicited by song playback, while the remaining two owls were calling prior to 

 any taped playback. Specific responses are described on owl observation forms 

 found in Appendix III. 



An estimate of boreal responses per mile of survey effort yields 

 approximately one boreal owl response per 3^ mi of survey. As an estimate of 

 survey effort by forest district, the data yield approximately one response per 

 10 mi for the Sula District routes, one response per 48 mi for the Wisdom 

 routes, and one response per 124 mi for the Wise River routes. 



Habitat Characteristics 



Boreal owl calling sites located during the survey occured between 6,000 

 ft and 7i800 ft elevation. All sites were found to be in spruce/subalpine fir, 

 lodgepole/subalpine fir, Douglas fir/lodgepole, or lodgepole/spruce forest 

 types. Primary sites were within 120 ft of forest openings and within 320 ft 



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