Spotted Owls in Scheelite Canyon - Roost Sites
This document provides details of the Spotted Owl roost sites that I've found in Scheelite Canyon since I started gathering data in 1993. It's going to take me quite a while to publish details of all the places where I've seen owls roosting (roughly 100), so I'm starting with the most commonly used sites. Later, as the list grows, I'll provide an index to access the data in different ways.

I'll add more roost site descriptions and photos as my schedule permits.

Roost site usage distribution data reflects usage through December 2009. Last three years refers to 2007, 2008 and 2009. Last seen data for the most used roost sites is kept current. Page last updated July 2010.

Many of these roost sites were named by "Smitty", some obvious and some not! Fortunately, for most sites I have the history. Generally, the sites are named in one of three ways:

• Name of a person -- Smitty usually named a site after the person who he was with the first time that he saw an owl in that location. I have continued this tradition.
• Location -- e.g. "Jaws Oak" is fairly descriptive  -- an oak tree at the landmark known as "Jaws".
• Physical Feature -- e.g. "L" tree -- a tree shaped like the letter L.

Terms and abbreviations used in the site descriptions

• LC=Lower Canyon; LA=Lower Roost Area; MA=Middle Roost Area; UA=Upper Roost Area
• above, up canyon and "+"  means higher up canyon (south)
• below, down canyon and "-"  means lower down canyon (north)
• landmarks are shown in italics

About distances
Roost sites are referenced from a mile marker or landmark; and/or with respect to another roost site. Distance to a roost site from its reference point is given in trail feet or yards, not straight line distance (i.e. the distance you have to walk following the trail). Also, the distance refers to a point on the trail, not the actual roost site (unless the site is immediately adjacent to the trail). If necessary, further information is then given to describe the site from the trail location. For example, to find the "V" oak (described below), walk 160 feet down canyon from the 5/8 mile marker then look 60 feet east up the canyon slope.

Refer to the trail map for links to photos of mile markers and landmarks. Remember, as you walk up canyon, you are heading south.

Top 16 Roost Sites
Listed below (in order of descending rank) are the top 16 roost sites that combine for a total usage of almost 75%. For these sites I have included the usage distribution by month. The "total usage" listed for each site is the percentage with respect to all my sighting records (>900 through December 2010). Monthly usage is the percentage of site usage with respect to the total number of sighting records in each month. On the face of things, it would appear that if you check these sites you have a 75% chance of success. However, since different individuals are involved over the years, it takes incoming (and usually young) birds some time to learn the canyon. As you might expect, their roosting behavior changes as they become more experienced. You'll note that the last three years ranking can be significantly different than the overall ranking; in some cases zero indicating no recent sighting in that location. Consequently, it will likely behoove you to give more weight to the rankings over the past 3 years  rather than the overall rankings for all my data since 1993. Many of the most recently used roosting sites are not described here.

Use the distribution information in the tables for each roost location (in conjunction with the chart data) to see the seasonal preferences exhibited by the owls. For example, based on overall data, you have a good chance of finding an owl in the "Granville Smith Tree" in February. Conversely, using negative data, you have zero chance of finding an owl in the "3/8 Oak" during the summer months. However, there's a first time for everything!

  1 LA-Huachuca Hiking Club Tree
  2 LA-Granville Smith Tree
  3 LA-Southeast of Forestry Oak
  4 LA-First 5/8 Fir
  5 LA-Ledge Trail -- Poison Ivy viewpoint
  6 LA-Ledge Trail -- False Solomon Seal viewpoint
  7 LA-North Ledge Trail -- Windy Oak
  8 MA-Oak in the Hollow
  9 LA-"V" Oak
10 LA-Jaws Oak
11 LA-Ditto Tree
12 LA-McMoran Tree
13 UA-Diagonal Oak Cluster
14 LA-Cliff Wash Oak
15 LA-First of last Three Oaks
16 LC-3/8 Oak

LA-Huachuca Hiking Club Tree    Photos #1 & #2    Photo #3
This is a dead Douglas Fir located in the Lower Roost Area, roughly midway between the 1/2 and 5/8 mile markers and about 150 feet above jaws. The tree is on the east side of the trail (immediately adjacent to the trail ), about 15 feet above the King Fir (which is on the west side of the trail). Photo #1 shows the location of the tree in relation to the King Fir; Photo #2 shows the roost location within the tree. Photo #3 shows an owl using this location.

This site has the distinction of being the most used location -- 13% of all my sightings have been in this tree. (Take away this one tree and the preference for oak trees is far more pronounced.) This well protected site is mostly shady all year and the tree is well used in all months. When walking up canyon, it's also the most obvious and easiest location to find of all sites. However, please note that many people have missed an owl in this location, most likely because they were looking at their feet watching where they were going. Look for the King Fir to find this tree. When walking down canyon, this spot is easy to miss. 

LA-Granville Smith Tree    Photo #1    Photo #2
This is a small, leafy oak located 20 feet above the Huachuca Hiking club tree and 35 feet above the King Fir. Although the tree is located on the slope a little east of the trail, the bulk of the foliage is immediately over the trail. Photo #1 shows this tree viewed from the Huachuca Hiking Club Tree (on the left of the photo). Photo #2 shows an owl using the sunny side of the tree.

When walking up canyon, it's usually very easy too see an owl roosting in this location because the bird is silhouetted at a height of 15-20 feet. Conversely, a bird can be well concealed when walking down canyon. This tree is shady on the down canyon side and exposed to the sun on the up canyon side. Consequently, it is used on a year round basis. Note the higher usage in winter when the birds regularly use the tree to get exposure to the sun.

LA-Southeast of Forestry Oak    Photo
This is a medium sized oak located 190 feet below the 5/8 mile marker. The tree is on the east slope of the canyon about 100 feet from the trail (10 feet southeast of the much larger Forestry Oak). The tree has three major trunks and a leafy top. The owls normally roost just under the canopy between the central trunk and the trunk on the north (down canyon side); and can be difficult to see from the main trail. The best trailside vantage point is from a bent fir tree on the east side of the trail about 12 feet below the "V" Oak (the above photo was taken from this location).

LA-First 5/8 Fir    Photo #1      Photo #2
This is a medium sized Douglas Fir tree located 45 feet above the 5/8 mile marker. At this point there is a trail (Cave Trail) that leads directly upslope on the west side of the canyon. The tree is on the south side of the Cave Trail about 10 feet from the main trail. Photo #1 shows the tree viewed from a point just below the 5/8 mile marker rock. As is the case with most firs, the owls usually roost on the lowest branch of this tree. Photo #2 shows an owl using this location.

LA-Ledge Trail -- Poison Ivy viewpoint

LA-Ledge Trail -- False Solomon Seal viewpoint

LA-North Ledge Trail -- Windy Oak    Photo

MA-Oak in the Hollow     Photo

LA-"V" Oak    Photo
This is a large, "V" shaped oak located 160 feet below the 5/8 mile marker on the east slope of the canyon, about 60 feet from the trail. The tree has two major trunks that grow left and right as you look east. Sometimes the roost spot is medium height on the left (down canyon) and on the trail side of the tree, however, most often it is higher on the right (up canyon) and away from the trail making it difficult to see the birds.

LA-Jaws Oak     Photo
This is fairly large and easily recognizable oak tree located about 350 feet above the 1/2 mile marker, near the jaws landmark. Jaws is adjacent to the trail on the east side of the canyon and the oak is immediately southeast. The owls normally roost at a medium height on the part of the tree that grows down canyon. Scan this area as you exit from the cliff section and see jaws ahead of you. Occasionally, the owls roost high on the up canyon side and sometimes very low and behind (on the east side of) the trunk on a small limb that is difficult to see until you walk past the tree and look back down canyon.

LA-Ditto Tree     Photo
This a fairly small oak with very little foliage, located adjacent to the trail on the east side of the canyon 60 feet above the 5/8 mile marker. An owl using this tree is very obvious. Unfortunately, the birds seemed to have abandoned this location and it's been some time since I saw an owl here. The tree was so named because Smitty saw an owl roosting here on five consecutive days. This is very unusual -- most of the time the owls change trees daily, or use the same tree twice or three times consecutively at best.

LA-McMoran Tree    Photo #1    Photo #2    Photo #3
This is a large oak with several trunks located 10 feet above the 5/8 mile marker, adjacent to the trail on the west side. This is an easy tree to recognize as can be seen from photo #1 taken from the first wash below 5/8. However, in my experience, the owls always roost very high in this tree (in two basic locations) and it can be one of the most difficult trees in which to find an owl. This tall tree is most often used in winter because it allows the owls to get some sun exposure.

Roost location #2 is slightly less used and perhaps the easier of the two roost locations to check. As you approach the 5/8 marker, stand to the west of the trail (to the right of the large boulder in the foreground of photo #1), just before a "step" up. Look for an owl silhouetted close to the top of the tree.

Roost location #1 is the most difficult spot to detect an owl. Walk up the trail past the tree (at least 20-30 feet) and look back down canyon to a location several feet below the top of the tree and on the west side of the canyon. Note: there's no help with a silhouette here because, depending on the vantage point, the bird has foliage or a trunk behind it. Photo #2 shows this location viewed from the "middle ledge trail" on the canyon slope due west of the tree (i.e. looking east). In this photo, there is actually an owl sitting where indicated -- look at photo #3 if you don't believe me!

If you fail to find an owl in the lower roosting area after double checking all locations, triple check this location before continuing on up canyon. It might save you a long and fruitless walk!

UA-Diagonal Oak Cluster

LA-Cliff Wash Oak    Photo #1    Photo #2
This is a large oak located 120 feet above the 1/2 mile marker. At this point you are in a wash (stream crossing) 60 feet below the cliff. The Cliff Wash Oak is located 100 feet upslope on the east side of the canyon. Photo #1 shows the tree viewed from the trail 60 feet above 1/2 mile marker. Scan the south side of the tree while standing at this location. Photo #2 shows the tree viewed from the wash, next to a large boulder. Very occasionally the birds will use the north side of the tree which can only be seen well by standing in the wash or by walking up the trail to the cliff and looking back.

Formerly, this tree wasn't used very much but has become a regular haunt in recent years, as indicated by the rankings. Apart from the little used 1/2 mile Oak, this is the first roost site encountered in the lower roosting area as you walk up canyon. As such, it's the first place that you might reliably expect to find an owl throughout much of the year, except in winter when the lower canyon must be thoroughly checked.

LA-First of Last Three Oaks

LC-3/8 Oak     Photo
This is a fairly large oak located in the lower canyon near (you guessed it) the 3/8 mile marker (funny how that works). About 35 feet above the 3/8 mile marker the trail rises slightly then drops as it swings hard left across a wash to the east side of the canyon. At this point, an older trail continues south on the west side of the canyon and the 3/8 oak is 40 feet along this trail.

This tree is predominantly used in winter with some spring and fall use. I have never seen an owl using this tree in summer -- so far! In winter, this site is the lowest (furthest down canyon) reliable location to find an owl, especially when there is snow on the ground further up canyon in the more traditional lower roosting area.

The owls typically roost just below the canopy on the west side of the tree, less commonly about mid tree height on the east side of the tree.