This owl thing is bugging me

[billvon 2,400]

OK, so a few months back, the Perris tunnel chewed up an owl after it managed to get _below_ the fans before startup one morning. I've talked to the people who saw the body, and it's sounding more and more like a snowy owl. The owls that fly around at night at Perris look similar, at least from beneath. Here are a few pics:

http://www.owlpages.com/species/nyctea/scandiaca/gallery.html

Now, they match on size, calls, and plumage, but the problem is that they _never_ come this far south in the summer, if you believe the guides out there.

What else could it be? A barn owl looks similar from beneath, but is much smaller than the ones I've seen:

http://www.owlinstitute.org/owls/barn.html

So JP, do either of these look like what you found?

[diablopilot 2]

Looked much more like the barn owl that your link showed.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Eule 0]

When I read the subject, at first I thought you were objecting to my picture. :)

A couple of things off the top of my head... all of the guides will give a certain range but "birds don't read
books". If there is a serious shortage of food in a bird's normal range, they will sometimes follow the food
as far as they need to. Also, sometimes one individual gets confused and ends up far off the beaten path.
The owl in question may have also been immature - nearly as big as a full-grown owl, but with different
plumage for the first year or so.

Now, if there really was a whole flock of snowy owls in Perris, you'd probably know it - it'd be on the local
news and there'd be birdwatchers all over the place. Also, this doesn't mean they don't exist, but I can't
think of any owls that have an immature plumage of nearly all white and then change to something much
darker. I am going to check in a couple of books when I get home, and I didn't see the dead owl in question,
but just going by what is common, a barn owl seems a likely candidate.

Eule

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

[billvon 2,400]

>Looked much more like the barn owl that your link showed.

OK, maybe it's just some amazingly large barn owls.

[ahegeman 0]

Its difficult to imagine that there is a question. Barn owls are pretty small. Snowy owls are HUGE. But a snowy owl in southern California would be rare. However, last February a local raptor rehabber I know received a snowy owl that had been injured right here in Fort Worth, so its not inconceivable.

Most likely is that it was an immature Great Horned owl. Desert dwelling GHOs tend to have lighter plumage, and immature ones are lighter still.

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There is a fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'.
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[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

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OK, so a few months back, the Perris tunnel chewed up an owl after it managed to get _below_ the fans before startup one morning.

That's very sad. I had no idea about an owl's demise in the tunnel. Also, I'm not familiar with how difficult or easy, that it might be for a bird/animal to get stuck below the fans at a wind tunnel.

Are there any steps that can and/or have been taken to prevent this from happening with birds/rodents/small animals in the future? Was this simply a solitary accident, that is not likely to occur in the future?

[Eule 0]

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I am going to check in a couple of books when I get home

I didn't find much enlightenment. I found some hawks that have white or very light immatures, but I don't
find much mention of immature owls in the books I have.

Another possibility is that it was an albino, but that would have probably been noticed already.

Eule

[tdog 0]

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OK, so a few months back, the Perris tunnel chewed up an owl after it managed to get _below_ the fans before startup one morning.

And I was there that morning on a training camp. I never want to see that again...

If I remember correctly, the feathers that were in the net were brownish, not whiteish...

[rehmwa 2]

But is the tunnel OK?

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Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[riddler 0]

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OK, maybe it's just some amazingly large barn owls.

I've seen barn owls that are absolutely huge in Colorado - much bigger than the average snowy.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD