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#Northern spotted owl
endlingmusings · 10 months
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[ A northern spotted owl in Oregon, photo courtesy of Kyle Sullivan. ]
“In the U.S., where 90% of the population was historically found, the federal government listed northern spotted owls as threatened in 1990. Despite vocal opposition from loggers, lawmakers levied the Endangered Species Act and other legislation to shut down logging in vast tracts of the owls’ remaining habitat, virtually overnight.
But neither Canada nor the province of British Columbia had comparable legislation; despite listing the owls as endangered in 1986, the government allowed old-growth logging to continue apace.
By the early ’90s, the spotted owl population in British Columbia was down to fewer than 100 breeding pairs, a fifth of what the population had been before colonization. The province pulled together a recovery team, and in 1997 it implemented a management plan that, it claimed, had a 60% chance of stabilizing, and possibly improving, the population. Of the more than 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres) set aside for owls, some was in existing parks, and in much of the rest, logging was still allowed.
Meanwhile, the owl population in British Columbia continued to spiral to fewer than 30 breeding pairs by 2002, and three years later, to just 22 owls, including 6 breeding pairs.
By 2006, an independent panel of scientists decided captive breeding was necessary, and the province opened a northern spotted owl captive-breeding program, the first of its kind in the world. To date, conservationists have taken a total of 10 owls, as well as a number of eggs, from the wild for captive breeding. Though progress has been slower than hoped, the captive population is now approximately 30 owls.
Joe Foy, a campaigner with the Wilderness Committee who has been working on spotted owl conservation for more than 30 years, says the crux of the problem is that provincial governments gave forestry precedence over wildlife conservation. According to British Columbia’s Forest and Range Practices Act, timber was always the most important value of the forests, allowing provincial regulations to constrain the impact that habitat protection for wildlife could have on timber supply. That, Foy says, is why we “ended up with a broken forest, and this species almost gone.”
Hobart says the decline in owls is symptomatic of wider imbalances in the landscape. The owls are one of the species, he says, “that we consider to be the messengers from the forest, from the water, from the sky.”
Logging is not the only reason northern spotted owls are now a hair’s breadth away from extirpation in British Columbia. Invasive barred owls (Strix varia), which are native to eastern North America but have been moving westward, are also muscling out spotted owls, and more frequent and intense forest fires due to climate change are adding pressure.
But logging was undoubtedly the catalyst for their decline, and the destruction is also impacting other species. Southern mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) depend on lichen in old-growth forests for food in the winter. The marbeled murelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), an endangered seabird, needs old-growth trees for nesting — and these are still being cut down. A recent study showed that logging even impacts salmon.
The old trees also store incredible amounts of carbon in their massive trunks and root systems; preserving standing forests is considered one of the cheapest and simplest ways to fight climate change.
- Excerpt from “One left: British Columbia’s last chance on northern spotted owls” by Ruth Kamnitzer.
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alistorgold · 1 year
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Carved in linoleum and printed
01/2023
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mountrainiernps · 2 years
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Monitoring Northern Spotted Owls
Mount Rainier National Park has been monitoring northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) annually since 1997. After habitat loss, the spotted owl was listed as Endangered in Washington state in 1988 and listed as federally threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990. Currently, there are 36 historic territories that are monitored at Mount Rainier National Park. Northern spotted owl monitoring enables biologists and park managers to get accurate annual population estimates of adult and juvenile spotted owls in the park. This helps inform conservation measures to help preserve the species within park boundaries and can contribute to the overall understanding of spotted owl population dynamics.
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You can help! If you see an owl in the park, please report it to a ranger or submit a wildlife observation report at https://arcg.is/rLOiy. Spotted owls look very similar to barred owls, so accurate descriptions of feather patterns, especially from the front of the bird is best, and including a picture helps park biologists verify sightings and monitor populations more effectively.
Learn more about spotted owl monitoring.
NPS Photos comparing Spotted Owls with Barred Owls. ~kl
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kp777 · 10 months
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carnivalcarrion · 3 months
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Wait!!! You said that you love birdwatching, me too!! What have you seen so far and which ones are your favourite?
-🎂
*casual birdwatching! as in i watch birds when they're around!
the list of birds ive seen in the wild is too long to list... and i dont think i can name a favori-roadrunners Its Roadrunners. im a roadrunner fan. meep meep
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tetrameryxx · 2 years
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I forgot to mention this when it happened but the highlight of my entire season was being able to finally see some northern spotted owls 🥺 We'd been surveying ALL summer, both at night and in the day.
Here there's a female (top) and her young mate that we mistakenly assumed was her baby haha
Weird to think that, since we're essentially surveying for their extinction at this point, that we might be part of the last generational group to mouse for spotted owls in these forests.
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uncharismatic-fauna · 4 months
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The Basics on the Barred Owl
Strix varia goes by many names: the barred owl, the northern barred owl, the striped owl, the hoot owl, the eight-hooter owl, or the who-cooks-for-you owl. The last few names refer to the owl's distinctive hooting call, which is often followed by what is often described as 'maniacal laughter'. The barred owl is native to the old-growth deciduous and coniferous forests of eastern North America, though in recent decades the species' range has expanded across the Rocky Mountains into the Pacific Northwest.
The striped owl can be hard to spot, due to its white and brown plumage. The back and wings are brown with white barring, while the chest is dull white or gray with brown streaks. The face is surrounded by a gray-white disk and framed with a brown mask. This coloration allows the barred owl to blend in seamlessly with the upper forest canopy where it resides-- although some populations in the southern parts of its range have been known to carry a pink tint due to the amount of shrimp they eat. However, S. varia is not a small birds; adults can be anywhere from 40 to 63 cm (16 to 25 in) in length, with a wingspan of 96 to 125 cm (38 to 49 in), and weigh about 630 g (22.2 oz) on average.
Like most owls, the barred owl is primarily nocturnal, though they can be fairly active during the day. When dormant, they roost in tree hollows or nests abandoned by other birds. At night, adults are active in guarding their territory and hunting for small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and large arthropods like moths and crayfish. The only natural predator of adult hoot owls is the great horned owl, which will often drive S. varia from their territory. Eggs and nestlings are sometimes prey for raccoons, weasels, and diurnal birds of prey.
S. varia mates for life, and couples are fiercely defensive of their territories and nests. Courtship and territory establishment begins in late winter, and continues from February to April. Males attract mates with their distinctive who-cooks-for-you call, and further entices prospective females with head bobbing and bowing. Together, the pair then establishes a roost and the female lays up to 5 eggs. She alone incubates the clutch for about a month, while the male hunts for her. After hatching, the female continues to care closely for the chicks for another 2-3 weeks, at which time she joins the male in hunting.
Hatchlings quickly become active, and are prone to falling out of the tree, but even at only 4 weeks old they are able to climb back up the trunk. Siblings have been recorded as being tight-knit, often staying close together in the nest and when learning to fly. Fledging begins at about 6 weeks old, and by 10 weeks young are capable of short flights. However, parents continue to provide care to their chicks until they're 6 months old, at which time the young owls leave (or are forced to leave) and establish their own territories. Mortality in barred owls is highest in their first year of life, and once out of this perilous stage individuals may live to be up to 18 years old in the wild.
Conservation status: The barred owl is a common species, and is considered by the IUCN to be Least Concern. The expansion of its range into the Pacific Northwest is considered one of the major causes of the decline of the northern spotted owl.
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Photos
Mick Thompson
Hal Thrachtenberg
Mark Musselman
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A federal government decision to reverse course on issuing an emergency order for the northern spotted owl has angered the British Columbia First Nation that asked for the protection of the endangered species.
Spuzzum First Nation Chief James Hobart said members of his community are “furious” after the federal government decision was outlined in a letter issued this week by the Canadian Wildlife Service, a branch of the Department of Environment.
The letter said the federal government will not bring in an emergency order to prevent logging in two watersheds within Spuzzum Nation territory in B.C.’s lower Fraser River canyon.
The logging was an activity that Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault had said posed “an imminent threat” to the survival of the species.
Guilbeault said earlier this year in another letter from the Canadian Wildlife Service that he was recommending the emergency order to cabinet to protect the spotted owl. [...]
Continue Reading.
Tagging: @politicsofcanada
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na-bird-of-the-day · 2 months
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BOTD: Northern Hawk Owl
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Photo: Armandas Naudzius
"In the northern forest, a lucky observer may spot this long-tailed owl perched upright at the top of a spruce. Rather hawklike in both appearance and behavior, it often hunts by day. Going from tree to tree, it flies fast and low, swinging up at the last moment to alight on the topmost twigs. The occasional Hawk Owl that wanders into the northeastern United States in winter may remain for weeks, attracting birders from far and wide."
- Audubon Field Guide
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cypherdecypher · 10 months
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Animal of the Day!
Mexican Striped Owl (Asio clamator)
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(Photo by John van Dort)
Conservation Status- Least Concern
Habitat- Central America; Northern and Central South America
Size (Weight/Length)- 500 g; 35 cm
Diet- Small mammals; Insects; Reptiles; Amphibians; Small birds
Cool Facts- While the tufts on their heads might resemble ears or antenna, the feathers only add to the Mexican striped owl’s charisma. These owls have a massive range that spans the majority of Central and South America’s savannah. Despite living in the rainforest center of the world, the Mexican striped owl prefers open areas where hunting is easier. It is a common sight to spot these owls at dusk sitting on fence posts or utility wires while scanning a farmer’s field for rats. Like many species of true owl, the Mexican striped owl flies silently and uses their facial disc to pinpoint prey through noise rather than sight. 
Rating- 12/10 (The owlest owl who ever owled.)
Requested by @sortiarus-de--naturas--daemonum
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eirianerisdar · 28 days
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hi! i'm really loving icarus, you're a wonderful writer! but i just had a quick question. i love the flock graphics, and they're super helpful! would it be possible for you to maybe list the species of birds for the main 'characters' of the story as well? you don't have to post example photos or anything crazy, but i think just a list like that would be helpful too. sometimes i forget who has what kind of wings, and i think having a list so i can google image the bird would be great.
if that's not something you want to do or don't have time to do or something, no worries!! i really appreciate you taking the time to write icarus in the first place <3
Oof I might as well do a general guide! I never thought a maxiel wingfic would spawn so many specific wing allocations but here's the general list:
Paddock wings in Icarus:
Current grid:
Daniel Ricciardo - Scarlet Macaw (colourful, nimble flyers)
Max Verstappen - Peregrine Falcon (raw speed, inherited from his mother)
Sergio Perez -Crested Caracara (a type of mexican bird of prey)
Lewis Hamilton - Greater Bird of Paradise (beautiful wing plumes, lovely singer)
George Russell - Blue swallow (beautiful metallic-blue feathers, scream like madmen when they fly)
Carlos Sainz - Spanish Imperial Eagle (white epaulets, very regal)
Charles Leclerc - White Dove (need I say more? Perfect white wings, exploited because they're pretty but so intelligent in pathfinding)
Lando Norris - Lucifer Hummingbird (Small, colourful, likes to hover in place)
Oscar Piastri - Little Lorikeet (One of the smaller types of Australian parrot. Very cute)
Yuki Tsunoda - Japanese Long-tailed tit (Photos should be self explanatory. They fly like ballistic missiles)
Alexander Albon - Crested Fireback (National bird of Thailand. Beautiful dark blue and fiery plumage)
Logan - Blue Jay (Commonly found in Florida. Blue, like Logan's current posting, and his eyes)
Pierre Gasly - Osprey (A bird of prey often found near coasts along the European shoreline, and Pierre is from Normandy)
Esteban Ocon - Black Stork (Tall, gangly, also migrates through France)
Fernando Alonso - Kestrel (a type of small bird of prey, hunts by biding their time and waiting then divebombing)
Lance Stroll - Snowy Owl (Lance is cuddly ok and I didn't want to make him a Canadian goose because that's his dad)
Valtteri Bottas - Bullfinch (Look it up. The picture is self-explanatory. The manliest of men)
Zhou Guanyu - Chinese Red-Crowned Crane (A crowned crane for the champion of the universe, as translates his name)
Kevin Magnussen - Raven (Viking. quoth the raven.)
Nico Hulkenberg - Crow (he keeps coming back. As wily as many of their bird counterparts but has a bad rep for being a bad omen)
Retired drivers or drivers not currently on the grid:
Sebastian Vettel - Swiftlet (Extremely good fliers, reaching up to 160km/h and pulls insane G-forces)
Mick Schumacher - European robin (Very cute. Universally liked. Same wings as his father)
Nico Rosberg - Eurasian Sparrowhawk (a bird of prey that hunts by ambushing before a high-speed, agile chase)
Jenson Button - Northern Harrier (hunts in a high-speed flight close to the ground, exceptionally good listeners)
Mark Webber - Cassowary (look up a photo. Just look at it.)
Kimi Raikkonen - Giant Albatross (King of gives no shits, flies very long distances without a care)
David Coulthard - Bush-Stone Curlew (White trousers!)
Romain Grosjean - Red-tailed Hawk (I chose the bird of prey that could best mesh with the phoenix metaphor)
Antonio Giovannazi - White-spotted Starling (Very pretty plumage)
Daniil Kyvat - Great Bustard (I honestly don't remember why. Distributes in Russia)
Nyck De Vries - Common European Sparrow (Small. Commonly found. Unfortunately often hunted)
Nikita Mazepin - Flamingo (Need I say more)
Sir Jackie Stewart - (Clipped) Merlin Wings (Extremely fast Scottish bird of prey. In-fic, Jackie was one of the generation of drivers that clipped their wings, permanently robbing them of flight)
Team Principals and people in the paddock:
Toto Wolff - Black Swan (self-explanatory)
Christian Horner - Golden Eagle (A bit pompous. Matches his hair)
James Vowles - Magpie (Utterly clever, not from any particular prestige)
Fred Vasseur - Partridge (Affable. Cuddly.)
Guenther Steiner - Shoebill (self-explanatory, look up a photo)
Cyril Abiteboul - Eagle Owl (something about his face is very Eagle Owl)
Micheal Italiano - Kookaburra (laughs when they shouldn't)
Zak Brown - Chicken (self-explanatory. Literally and metaphorically)
Andreas (mclaren) - Common Quail (short lifespan)
Mattia Binotto - Pigeon (wants to be as pretty and loved as Charles. Is a public nuisance instead)
Otmar sznafnauer - Peacock (Struts around, can't really fly)
Resident Bastard:
Jos Verstappen - Cuckoo (Cuckoos are brood parasites, and lay their eggs in nests of birds of other species'. The cuckoo parent therefore does nothing while other birds raise their young)
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outofangband · 2 months
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Birds of Thargelion
After this I just have Maglor’s Gap and that will complete my series on birds in the Fëanorian realms pre Amon Ereb!
Flora, fauna, geography and environment of Arda Masterlist
Thargelion was the realm of Caranthir, located in the north east of Beleriand just north of Ossiriand and bordered by the Ered Luin, the eastern stretch of mountains that divided Beleriand from the rest of Middle Earth
As always this is not a definitive list! Please feel free to ask more or give me a more specific category!
Around Lake Helevorn and the rivers: Red-breasted merganser, mute swan, white tailed dipper, whooper swan, smew, little grebe, red throated loon, common crane, mallard, common white eye, northern shovler, green winged teal, corn crake, spotted crake, black winged stilt
Mountains: bearded vulture, water pipit, golden eagle, kestrel, peregrine falcon, Rock ptarmigan, common siskin, alpine accentor, northern wheatear, ring ouzel, white tailed eagle, chough, spotted nutcracker, Citril finch, griffon vulture, common redstart, common raven, wallcreeper, common jay, boreal owl, white winged snowfinch, crag martin, common redstart, black redstart
Foothills and forests: black grouse, wood grouse, goshawk, grey white fronted goose, hazel grouse, little bunting, meadow pipit, tree sparrow, hedge warbler, Bohemian waxwing, common kestrel, long eared owl, little owl, marsh tit, coal tit, mourning dove, rock pigeon, woodchat strike
World building notes
-Like most of the Noldor in Eastern Beleriand, many of Caranthir’s scouts keep birds of prey. In Thargelion these are primarily peregrine falcons and kestrels. Hunting with birds was less common however.
--There are populations of Green Elves who live in Thargelion, primarily in the mountains and near the border of Ossiriand. Though they also do not use birds for hunting, certain species are kept as companions or messengers.
-Chicken breeding as an art and science developed during the Watchful Peace. Chickens in Thargelion are appraised for long plumage and colorful feathers. Their eggs are eaten but they are not often used for meat.
-Chickens, peacocks and quails were kept by the Noldor of Thargelion, techniques of raising and breeding them were learned from Sindar and Silvan cultures of Eastern Beleriand. Indeed the Noldor of Thargelion were one of the only Noldor populations to keep quails.
-Bearded vultures appear on the crests of some of Caranthir’s lords and were even kept by a few of them
-Feathers of various mountain birds especially eagles and ouzel appear in wood carvings as an architectural motif during the Watchful Peace in Thargelion
-Out of all the Fëanorian realms, water birds appear most often in art and other cultural references in Thargelion as Lake Helevorn and its wildlife are a central facet of life there especially in times of peace. Wading birds like crakes, cranes and stilts are especially Valued.
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incorrectguardians · 9 months
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On Otulissa, and her similarities to the villains.
I don’t have to go into why she’s such a loved character, I could gush so much about Otulissa just in general, any day of the week, but there’s something curious about her growth and development throughout the series. 
Otulissa is a very fun character, because she very much, more often than not, acts as a foil to the major and sometimes minor villains. Most notably to The Striga and Gemma, yet surprisingly, also to Nyra.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to call Otulissa and Nyra foils, they are connected and quite similar, Otulissa is the one who gave Nyra her scar, after all.
Here, so:
Nyra’s a very vengeful and vindictive owl, she’s named after an ancient tradition of Nyrolian Owls, and takes pride in it, reminding everyone of it when she can. 
She believes that violence is the only way to achieve what she wants. Violence and conquering, to achieve full and total control of the owl kingdoms. 
She loved Kludd cause he was the only one who could match her, they could create a powerful union together, and bring the Pure Ones to a new era. They were perfect for each other, complimented each other. 
That sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? At its core at least.
While I would not call Otulissa a vengeful owl as in that she believes in an “eye for an eye,” but she is vindictive as in, how to put it…
It’s partly due to the fact that Otulissa and the rest were only just ‘grown’ when the first whispers of the Pure Ones arose, they still had so much left to learn. The scar she gave Nyra was during the first official battle she ever fought, and it was out of revenge. Nyra had just killed her beloved mentor, Strix Struma. 
Otulissa has a very strong sense of what is right, and what is wrong. When she feels she has been wronged, she’ll do whatever she can to make it right. This does lead to spats, disagreements, this can lead to violence. She's demonstrated moments of rage and anger when she has been wronged, but it’s not because she believes in an eye for an eye. 
Otulissa is a very traditional name for a female spotted owl in the Northern Kingdoms, a mark of very distinguished heritage, and she takes a lot of pride in that fact. 
But Otulissa is not from the Northern Kingdoms, she knew that her ancestors came from there to the south at some point (evidenced by the discovery of her beloved Strix Emerilla), but she’d barely have an idea of how many generations separate her from that era. Otulissa was born and grew up in the Southern Kingdoms. She was also orphaned very young, like the rest, it’s likely she only knew the tip of the iceberg regarding her family (added to what Audrey may have told her). Everything she knows about them is from her own research. She wanted to be just like her distinguished predecessors. 
Nyra, however, is from the Northern Kingdoms, and she’s similarly named after an ancient tradition that spans back centuries, maybe even before the time of the legends. She carries the name of that first, ancient, Nyra. She also takes a lot of pride in that fact, naming her son after the same tradition. Nyra is just like her predecessors, born on the night of an eclipse, but she uses that power for evil. In comparison to Otulissa, she knows her heritage, grew up at her roots. She also describes herself as a very practical owl, much like Otulissa.
Regardless, Nyra thought she was better than everyone else. 
But in Otulissa’s case, if her peers only thought that Otulissa thought that she was better than everyone else, it didn’t matter. Because whether or not she, at some point, actually believed so, very soon her and everyone else were going to get a shock that made them stop believing that. You can thank the Pure Ones. 
There’s a dangerous slope there, between what is simply just pride in one’s heritage, and the great evil that Nyra was threatening. 
Everyone is going through their own struggles, everyone is just like everyone else. Otulissa just needed to learn how to live with it. 
Even so, Otulissa puts quite a bit of emphasis on this heritage of hers, something that I cannot accurately claim is unique to her, but is definitely brought to attention more through her than anyone else. 
This gives her a contrast to other characters we meet, who are often instead proof that it is not someone’s origin that matters, it’s their actions that count. While Otulissa still knows this, she struggles with it at times, and is shown to be close minded, calling Soren treasonous when he had refused to train Skench and Sproon in The Burning. 
When she met Cleve, she grew interested, they were much alike, he was perfect, such a distinguished gentleman, in her eyes. Like Nyra, It certainly felt like another match made in Glaumora (well, Hagsmire for Kludd and Nyra). 
Otulissa was shocked to find out that he was a pacifist. Because he was a prince with such an illustrious history! From a long line of warriors! From the same hollow Strix Emerilla came from! For Glaux’s sake! 
If Nyra were here, she would have spat at something and called him a coward, yeepish, etc etc. 
Otulissa? Otulissa did not say any of those things out loud.
She’s instead just, extremely confused. Because why wouldn’t she be. For one, she’s from The Great Tree, she’s been growing up and learning how to fight. At the moment she met Cleve in The Burning, she’s coming into her own, preparing for a war strategy that she came up with, that she knows is vital to stopping the Pure Ones and vanquishing the evil. She knows that there would be no simply talking to them, that there would be no ‘negotiating for peace’ with the Pure Ones, that war is the only option. 
And for another, Cleve is from an aristocratic family that is drenched in a history of warfare. Otulissa herself is very proud of the weathertrixes in her own family. She doesn’t understand why he would still choose to be a pacifist, isn’t he proud?
On the other hand, a Nyrolian owl is always destined for great things. To Nyra’s credit, conquering the owl kingdoms believing it is their Glaux-given right as Barn Owls, is a ‘great’ thing indeed (Even if horrific). In fact, in her eyes, the only great thing worth striving for. As a Nyrolian Owl, shouldn’t her own son agree? Be striving for it as well?
But… back to Otulissa, if there’s one thing she’s been learning to do so far, it’s how to open her mind. So she and Cleve begin to understand one another, even if their differences are vast.
And then when Coryn, the son of Nyra, came to the Beyond and met Otulissa. It was part of a continuous lesson she’s been learning, that heritage doesn’t have to mean anything to you if you don’t want it to, and it dictates nothing.
It’s what you do with it, whether it’s in spite of, or with respect to, or in defiance of it, that matters from start to finish. 
Gemma was the creator of the Guardians of the Guardians of the Ember, so otherwise, she’s not a major villain. There’s a bit of foreshadowing at the beginning of The Golden Tree, where she constantly mentioned Ezylryb and how she shares a kinship with him because they were both Whiskered Screeches. Trying to claim things about him that were completely incorrect, of course everyone in the moment who knew him personally had something to say about it. But again, it sounds familiar. 
You could say that Gemma started out the same way as Otulissa, not knowing who she was, relying on how others similar to her, who came before her, were like. Gemma never knew her heritage face to face, neither did Otulissa, she likely read about it, just like Otulissa. 
Like Otulissa, Gemma has a strong sense of what is right in her eyes, and what is wrong. But Gemma didn’t care whether or not what she was saying was factually correct or not, she was okay with lying as a means to getting her way. Because, according to Gemma, if she’s just like her ancestors, then clearly her ancestors were just like her and believed the same things she did. Otulissa however, all she did was read, read, read, and read, searching for what was fact and separating it from what was false. Otulissa leaves very little to assumptions, and further still has very little patience for what’s fictional. 
However, I’m not sure if anyone tried to help Gemma or not, because it’s clear that she’s younger than Otulissa, or at the very least hasn’t been at the Great Tree for as long. But not young in general, because she’s in parliament. 
Yet she remained as she did, and the events of The Golden Tree happened as they did. Gemma did not develop an open mind and instead let herself get consumed by her own fear and ignorance, and Otulissa didn’t. 
Mostly because Otulissa was sitting in jail the entire time.
In general, Otulissa always hated anything and everything that could be considered flashy, vulgar, and completely unnecessary. Always has and won’t budge. No owl would need to wear clothes, that’s an Others thing. Her hollow only needs what is beneficial to her work, and of course, a perch and nest to sleep on. She’ll pursue her own comfort, evidenced by her keeping a coal grate in her hollow in The Hatchling. But she wouldn’t keep anything solely for its aesthetic value, and, when she was younger, actively scorned others when she saw that they did. 
Of course, as an adult, she now mostly begrudges it, accepting that it’s just not for her, and would not deny an owl the right to have them. Even going as far as agreeing to hide Madame Plonk’s teacup for her during The Golden Tree.
Similarly, Otulissa despised joke books because she found them completely vulgar and they taught nothing. She didn’t mind, but could not find herself interested in fiction. She wanted to know what was real and true. But she loved poems and music, because they often reflected things like the writer’s personal life, the state of the world, and the feelings in one's gizzard, and that was real to her. 
Once again, despite her reservations, she would never prevent another owl from reading any sort of book. 
She couldn’t stand it when others would mess around and make unprofessional what an important outing with the chaw was going to be, especially when it’s her own teacher perpetuating and encouraging it. It’s very undignified, nothing like her. 
So when The Striga was welcomed to the Great Tree and began talking about ‘vanity,’ Otulissa, now grown, found that she could agree, to an extent. But what The Striga was suggesting bordered on dangerous. 
At a glance, The Striga assumed that he and Otulissa were very much alike, two birds of a feather, but the feeling was absolutely not mutual. 
When he met Otulissa in the library, The Striga claimed that only the practical studies were free of vanity, that anything else was “anti-glaux,” and that he approved of Otulissa’s choice of book at the moment (a book on atmospheric pressure, by Strix Emerilla, of course). But added on that one should never be too prideful, that pride was another vanity. 
Otulissa was very proud of her ancestors, but was never one who did something for the approval of someone else. Everyone is different, going through their own struggles, just like everyone else. Due to previous events in her life, Otulissa was also instinctually wary of any owl that attempted to preach an ideal Owl World based on quantities of “purity.” Even if The Striga had tried to call it “true owlness.” 
The Striga then attempted to use this encounter to get Otulissa out of the Great Tree, along with the band, but he clearly underestimated her, since she elected to stay behind. The encounter also later gave Otulissa what she needed to make the decision to smuggle books out of the Great Tree, the ones she felt were at risk of disappearing thanks to The Striga. 
Then later, when she lost her eye, she went one step further to separate herself just a little bit more from The Striga’s ideals. With Trader Mags’ help, someone who she historically never got along with, she picked out a rather “jaunty” bandana for herself to wear over the injury. Saying that there was nothing wrong with a bit of vanity. 
I don’t believe that were Otulissa left to her own devices, she’d grow up to be something evil. Likely only just bitter, snooty, stuck-up, and snobbish and a ryb who was a horrible teacher that everyone hated and would celebrate when she died. Much like Dewlap, who I omitted from this analysis because …. I forgot, my bad, because this is long enough as it is.
But she had friends and rybs who taught her as much as she taught them, and instead she grew up to be a, still a bit snooty, ryb whose a great teacher… despite the mixed opinions of her students. 
I just think it’s very interesting that she’s had so many similarities to the villains that seem purposeful. 
Because Otulissa was never something to be fixed, there was never anything wrong with her, she didn’t have to get a new personality. Everything she grew into was something she did herself, she just needed someone to see who she truly was, what she could do.
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ghostoffuturespast · 20 days
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8 March 2024 - Friday Field Notes
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VIBs (Very Important Birds) - Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Western Meadow Lark, taxidermied Great Horned Owl. It's that time of year again when strange things start appearing in my car...
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Things on the prairie are very slowly starting to wake up. Got the chance to spend a good chunk of time out of the field this week and not at my desk. Which is my favorite part of the day job. Got to do a bird count earlier in the week and explored for three hours along the creek with a couple of coworkers yesterday to scout for spots to put game cameras. Saw four Northern Harrier Hawks, the Bald Eagles, heard all the Western Meadowlarks, Pronghorn, Prairie Dogs, spiders, one lone grasshopper, and spooked a Coyote out of the Coyote Willow. Also met a couple of new plants too.
I found many treasures; I know what a Willow Pinecone Gall Midge is now, American Licorice reminds me of little Korok maracas, Pronghorn bones, a lovely pink rock. Trying to see if I can actually nature journal more regularly this year too and I've got a couple pages in already!
I'm ready for spring. I've got too many wild gardening schemes.
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pleistocene-pride · 4 months
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The western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie is a species in the grouse family which is endemic to the taiga and boreal forest of Northern Eurasia, from Scotland in the west to Russia in the east. They are typically diurnal ground dwelling birds which while capable of flight, are fairly clumsy in the air due to there short rounded wings. While taking off they produce a sudden thundering noise that deters predators. At night they rest in the horizontal branches of tree stands or within thick ground cover such as bushes and sedges, emerging during the day to feed upon seeds, buds, leaves, berries, insects, grasses, and conifer needles. Capercaillies are themselves eaten by wolves, lynx, foxes, eagles, martens, bears, boar, goshawks, and owls. With females reaching around 21- 25 inches (54- 64 cms) long & 3.5 to 5.8lbs (1.5 to 2.5kg) in weight while the male can reach 29 to 40 inches (74 -100cms) long and 9lbs to upwards of 15lbs (4 to 7kg) in weight, the western capercaillie is one of the most size sexually dimorphic living bird species, only exceeded by the larger types of bustards and a select few members of the pheasant family. The females upper parts are brown with black and silver barring; on the underside they are more light and buffish yellow. While the males are dark grey to dark brown, with the breast feathers being dark metallic green. The belly and undertail coverts vary from black to white. Both sexes have a white spot on the wing bow. They have feathered legs, and their toe rows of small, elongated horn tacks provide a snowshoe effect enabling them to traverse thick snow with ease. The breeding season begins in March or April and lasts until May or June. Three-quarters of this long courting season is mere territorial competition between neighboring cocks or cocks on the same courting ground. Towards the end of the courting season the hens arrive on the courting grounds, at which time the dominate cock or cocks flies to an open space nearby and continuously displays. If impressed one or more hens will approach and be mounted. Females will lay 3 to 12 eggs over a 10 day period, which she will incubate for 26 -28 days until hatching. The young will remain with there mother for around 3 months, Under ideal conditions a western capercaillie may live upwards of 18 years.
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