Changes

Barred owls live in dense, mixed-species woodlands, consisting of either deciduous hardwoods (hemlock, maple, oak, hickory, beech, aspen, etc.) or pines (white spruce, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, etc.).  They prefer mature trees, often near water, and supporting a large number of prey animals.

Barred owls live in dense, mixed-species woodlands, consisting of either deciduous hardwoods (hemlock, maple, oak, hickory, beech, aspen, etc.) or pines (white spruce, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, etc.).  They prefer mature trees, often near water, and supporting a large number of prey animals.

The barred owl’s original habitat was the forested areas of the eastern United States and Canada, and until the late-1800’s it never expanded westward due to the Great Plains.  In addition to the lack of trees, current hypothesis suggest this was partially the result of selective burning by Native Americans, which ended with the arrival and expansion of Americans of European ancestry.  So-called “habitat bridges” were created across the plains, i.e. trees growing unimpeded by fire, and allowing the barred owl to move into the west.  Moving into Canada across the northern plains, they were first observed in British Columbia in 1949; in the following years they were seen in Washington, Oregon, and northern California.  A National Parks Service report stated they had become established in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, in 2002,<ref>http://www.nps.gov/pore/naturescience/upload/birds_journal_article_westernbirds_barredowlsinmarin_2011.pdf</ref> and the Redwood National Park.<ref>http://www.nature.nps.gov/parkscience/archive/PDF/Article_PDFs/ParkScience23%281%29Winter2004-2005_24-27_50_Sakai_2460.pdf</ref>

The barred owl’s original habitat was the forested areas of the eastern United States and Canada, and until the late-1800s it never expanded westward due to the Great Plains.  In addition to the lack of trees, current hypothesis suggest this was partially the result of selective burning by Native Americans, which ended with the arrival and expansion of Americans of European ancestry.  So-called “habitat bridges” were created across the plains, i.e. trees growing unimpeded by fire, and allowing the barred owl to move into the west.  Moving into Canada across the northern plains, they were first observed in British Columbia in 1949; in the following years they were seen in Washington, Oregon, and northern California.  A National Park Service report stated they had become established in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, in 2002,<ref>http://www.nps.gov/pore/naturescience/upload/birds_journal_article_westernbirds_barredowlsinmarin_2011.pdf</ref> and the Redwood National Park.<ref>http://www.nature.nps.gov/parkscience/archive/PDF/Article_PDFs/ParkScience23%281%29Winter2004-2005_24-27_50_Sakai_2460.pdf</ref>

==References==

==References==