Who hoo hoo whoo!
Who can you watch on live camera right now?
The rarest owl in Canada - the Northern Spotted Owl - and its downy chick.
Located in Langley, the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program offers a live stream of an incredibly rare owl family over the next few weeks. On April 20, a rare Northern Spotted Owl chick was hatched after being artificially incubated, hand raised and recently returned to his parents.
With fewer than 10 wild individuals left in Canada, each chick is vital for the population recovery of this endangered species.
Among the largest owls in Canada, adults are roughly 40 to 48 centimetres long. It gets its name from its distinctive spots on the back of its head and back, and its typical call is a four-note “who hoo hoo whoo.”
Now in its fourth year, the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program partner with the NSOBP to bring the live-stream the Spotted Owl webcam.
“This web camera gives an intimate look at the growth and development of a Northern Spotted Owl chick (currently referred to as “Chick J”) on the nest, which is a unique experience and great learning opportunity for everyone interested in the breeding program,” says Jasmine McCulligh at the NSOBP.
“We were so overwhelmed with the support of the public over the last three years and are happy to share these amazing owls again this year! Especially with everything that is going on in the world, it makes it even more special to be able to spread some joy by sharing the live stream.”
Chick J was born after 32 days of artificial incubation, 80 hours of hatching, followed by nearly two weeks of hand-rearing before being returned to its parents—Sedin and Amoré—on May 3. Chick J is the second offspring for Sedin and Amoré as they welcomed their first chick, another male, named Rocket last spring.
Along with Chick J, the Spotted Owl pair have welcomed Chick P and Chick Q. NSOBP says it is the first time ever that a single pair of Northern Spotted Owls has had three chicks in a single breeding season. With the season not quite done yet, this puts the NSOBP on track to have another great breeding season.
There are currently 25 adult spotted owls at the breeding centre, including seven breeding pairs. The Program aims to house a minimum of ten breeding pairs. The goal of the breeding program, which started in 2007, is to restore the wild population to over 200 adult Northern Spotted Owls by releasing up to 20 juvenile owls per year over the next 15 to 20 years. If all goes well with breeding this year, owls will be released into 300,000 hectares of protected forests starting as early as summer 2021.
The FWCP, is a partnership between BC Hydro, the Province of B.C., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations, and public stakeholders to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife in watersheds impacted by BC Hydro dams.
Want to catch the best times?
NSOBP say the owls are most active between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., and 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. They add that this is when food is provided to the adults, but that it is hard to predict when they will feed the chick.
As the chick grows, Amoré will spend more time off the nest, but for now she will remain in the nest most of the time to keep the chick warm.
Due to COVID19, the NSOBP has not been able to have volunteers on site and all public outreach events have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. Public outreach events are an important fundraising stream for the NSOBP which is a part of the non-profit British Columbia Conservation Foundation. The NSOBP has launched an “Adopt-a-Chick” fundraiser where donors will receive exclusive emails for a one-time donation of $20.
“We estimate it costs about $1700 per year to feed just one Northern Spotted Owl in its first year of life; so we’re hopeful that this fundraiser will help out with those costs” says McCulligh.
Information about the program can be found HERE.
Watch the livestream HERE.
