ABC's Bird of the Week - Spotted Owl

Trouble viewing this email? View as a webpage here Bird of the Week Spotted Owl The Northern subspecies of the Spotted Owl has received much media attention because of the ongoing, controversial logging of the old-growth forest that comprises its favored habitat. Up to 85 percent of its original habitat has been lost, which has led to continuing population declines. There are four recognized subspecies of this owl; the Northern and Mexican were listed under the Endangered Species Act in the 1990s, and areas of Critical Habitat were designated to help recover populations. Despite these actions, Northern Spotted Owl numbers continue to decline at a rate of 2.9 percent per year. The biggest threat to the Spotted Owl is the loss and degradation of its habitat due to clear-cutting, fragmentation, and fire suppression. Competition with the more aggressive Barred Owl, which has spread west into Northern Spotted Owl territories, also poses a significant threat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a final recovery plan for the Northern Spotted Owl in June 2011, with goals of protecting the best of its remaining habitat, actively managing forests to improve forest health, and reducing competition from Barred Owls. Check out ABC's Bird News Network for a new video report on Spotted Owls!   Photo: Spotted Owl by Kris Hennings; Range Map by NatureServe

Don't forget to join ABC on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and check out the ABC blog                      Plus... Free Ways to Help American Bird Conservancy Raise Much-Needed Funds: every time you shop at any of 700+ online stores in the iGive network, a portion of the money you spend benefits American Bird Conservancy. It's a free service, and you'll never pay more when you reach a store through iGive. In fact, smart shoppers will enjoy iGive's repository of coupons, free shipping deals, and sales. To get started, just create your free iGive account<. And when you search the web, do it through iSearchiGive.com where each search means a penny (or more!) for our cause! Start iGiving at: www.iGive.com/abcbirds & www.iSearchiGive.com/abcbirds

American Bird Conservancy is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Click here to unsubscribe from BirdWire