Powerful Owl knowledge gaps

There are many unknowns about Powerful Owls locally. For starters, how many are there? Where are they? What conservation measures are needed? Here's your chance to help build an accurate picture of all things Powerful, and to keep things that way!

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Mick Atzeni
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Powerful Owl knowledge gaps

Post by Mick Atzeni »

.://..threatenedspecies.environmen ... x?id=10562

A mate from work forwarded the website on Powerful Owls. He found it for one of his casual staff who saw a Powerful Owl in Bowtell St, Rangeville behind Rangeville Primary School in February. Other confirmed and likely reports in the suburbs bordering the Toowoomba escarpment have trickled in over the years. I suspect it's a regular behaviour that goes largely unnoticed.

We're extremely lucky to have Powerful Owls here and it's important to keep a tab on them. Truth be known, we still know very little about our local Powerful Owl population despite 30+ years of surveying the local area.

For instance, how many pairs do we actually have in our area? One? Two? Or more? Was the dead bird on the Toowoomba range (reported in the TBO Aug 2007 newsletter) one of the Redwood Park birds? Could it have possibly been one of the Highfields Falls pair? Are the Highfields birds the Redwood Pk birds? Or would that be too big a territory for one pair?

Has anyone seen or heard the Highfields Falls adults recently? I know there have been a few looking lately without success, myself included on 15/8. Does anyone know where the birds roost in Redwood Park now? (Seems they have deserted their previous known roosts after the habitat was altered during privet and other weed control measures).

It would be great if we could confirm birds in two or more locations on the same day. This has never happened in the past, hence all the unanswered questions.

Therefore, I encourage the results of all searches for the Powerful Owls at Highfields Falls to be reported from now on, whether successful or not. Likewise, for Redwood Park. Also any evidence or sightings of Powerful Owls elsewhere in the area, including Helidon. Let's get a proper handle on these magnificent locals.

If anyone is interested in participating in a coordinated search, please get in touch with me.
Michael Atzeni
7 Woden St, Murphys Creek 4352
Mob: 0499 395 485
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Brendon & Judi Gray
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Location: Kleinton, Queensland.
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Powerful Owls

Post by Brendon & Judi Gray »

While I have never been lucky enough to ever see these birds, I have read a lot about them from the writings of David Fleay (Zoologist/Naturalist). I was wondering what other areas on the Downs that they have been seen. I wondered this after some time ago finding a severed possum tail on our property under a large tree. I had read in David Fleay's writings that this is charactistic of the Powerful Owl. Does any one know more about this? There definately would be plenty of food source in our area? Probably just hopefull!!
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