Originally streamed: April 8, 2022

Boreal owls (Aegolius funereus) live throughout the boreal forest in North America and northern Eurasia. Though well studied in Europe, we know little about boreal owl prey and reproductive success in Alberta. To find out more, we installed 31 nest boxes to attract pairs of boreal owls to nest so we can monitor their nesting attempts and collect their pellets. By dissecting and separating the bones and teeth in the pellets, we can identify the species of small mammals that the owls are catching and eating. This helps us examine the relationships between prey, the landscapes around their nests, and owl reproductive success.

Speaker bio:

Corey Scobie (Ph.D.) has been Assistant Curator of Ornithology at the Royal Alberta Museum since 2014, where he prepares birds, helps manage the Ornithology collection, and assists with various research projects. Previously, Corey worked with Species at Risk in the grasslands of Alberta and Saskatchewan, where he focused on the effects of human development on burrowing owl movement patterns and reproductive success.