[Tweeters] Northern Pygmy-Owl sighting - to report or not report?

[Lukas Evans]

Hi everybody,

I've been following tweeters for a while but this is my first time posting. Yesterday, I had an extremely exciting encounter with a Northern Pygmy-Owl in a local park where I live in Sammamish. I relocated it again this morning, so it's still around. This is pretty unusual for my area, I think there are only one or two eBird records of Pygmy-Owl in all of Sammamish. They're usually restricted to the cascade foothills farther east, but this one appears to have spent the winter here.

But now I'm faced with a dilemma - do I report it to eBird now, or wait until after the bird has likely left for the spring? I would love to share this sighting and help others have a chance to see this owl, but I'm also nervous about the potential for people disturbing it by using playback or other invasive methods. 

My understanding is that Pygmy-Owls are one of the owl species least vulnerable to human disturbance. The owl was hanging out up in the forest canopy, and didn't seem alarmed by my presence. It feels like a good location for the owl to have personal space if people do come to look for it. Am I correct in this assessment, or should I hold off on reporting the owl to keep it off the eBird alerts? Or at least not provide detailed information in the checklist about where I found the bird? Am I overthinking this and being too cautious?

An additional note - this was in a public park with parking lots, so access isn't a problem. Thanks,


Lukas Evans
Sammamish, WA
Lukasevans at live.com