Tribute to a Lost Friend
by Caitlin M. Davis
Original Prismacolor Illustration by Bryce W. Robinson
I found out last week that a friend I had met recently died, and I thought it only appropriate to pay tribute. This Northern Hawk Owl, a wanderer from the north, had been hanging out for several weeks at a shopping center in Moscow, Idaho, where he met his tragic fate with a vehicle.
A few weeks ago, Bryce Robinson, Heidi Ware and I made the icy 7 hour trek to see this amazing creature, far away from his home. We were hoping he would give us clues as to why he was lost, and why he had chosen this new city life. Was he dissatisfied with where he lived? Was there no food? Were his parents mean to him? Was he just a dreamy wanderer? Knowing that he is an owl, and probably won’t answer our questions, we were really just excited to spend some time with him.
We found him within minutes of reaching the shopping center, perched on a telephone wire. He almost immediately dove down and landed in a low tree along a trail next to the road, about 5 feet from a pedestrian. Just imagine a bird you never knew existed, an owl no less, landing in arms reach on your afternoon stroll. A crazy story for even a non-birder. The man made very slow, calculated movements to snap a cell phone picture, while a hoard of birders materialized out of the brush. Everyone, including our cohort, rushed over to see this bird, up close for the first time.
The Hawk Owl was everything we had dreamed of and more! He was extremely docile and tolerant of the barrage of squealing fans and cameras. He just kept with his daily routine, actively looking for prey and flying from perch to perch. He allowed us to study and enjoy his animated antics for a good amount of time. While we were there he crossed the road and almost got hit by traveling soccer moms, rowdy teenagers and cowboys, multiple times. The owl seemed very content in his new home, so it was only a matter of time before he would meet his inevitable fate.
It wasn’t surprising to hear the news that he had been hit by a car, but it was quite sad. The drainages next to the road were too full of delicious food and there was cozy, safe infrastructure for roosting. The fact is, even roads hours away from anywhere create a deadly barrier for birds. Raptors are oftentimes drawn to roads because there are comfortable perches and there is ample prey either already dead, or thriving on an endless smorgasbord of waste. They stoop down quickly for a meal and cannot change direction in time to avoid a speeding 18-wheeler.
So, what do we do? This question is important, and I know that research is being done to help ease yet another impact we, humans, have on the world of birds.
Click here to see an adorable clip of this guy if you missed it a few weeks ago.
RIP little buddy.
ornithologi.com 
So sad.
You can help by reporting it. I have found more than 50 birds and small animals killed by traffic for every 1 deer or large animal along the road. It’s a big problem, but is poorly documented. Less than half of deer are reported as well and more than 4,000 were reported in Idaho last year. That could mean 20,000 birds and small animals by my estimate.
Report road-killed birds in Idaho at http://fishandgame.Idaho.gov so we can create a data set to start with.
Thanks for the info, Ben. I had no idea this report system existed, and am glad it does. I will definitely start reporting! On a recent drive from Salt Lake to Idaho I saw AT LEAST 6 dead barn owls. It would be interesting to see how much wildlife is counted if more people start reporting.
Noooooo!!! He got killed? Oh no so sad. I found my first, dead barn owl last night. She had been killed maybe five minutes before I found her. I wrote a journal entry about her, and writing it made me cry. It made my research so much more real after finding her. So sad. Good tribute Caitlin, thank you for writing it.
I saw that you found a dead owl…. It’s hard to accept. I’m certainly glad your project is engineered towards discovering some complexities of the issue, in hopes of discovering a way to limit the amount of birds that die from collisions with vehicles. You certainly have my support, Tempe!