Professor Brian Linkhart’s exciting flammulated owl talk is fast approaching–mark your calendar for 7:00 p.m. this Thursday, April 5, to learn about how fire affects these tiny owls.
The elusive flammulated owl (”flam”), the second smallest owl species in the U.S., lives in the ponderosa and aspen forests of the Colorado Front Range, forests shaped over centuries by frequent fire. But how have they fared in the face of catastrophic burns like the Hayman Fire, which burned the largest area in Colorado’s history?
Linkhart and his students have been studying flam populations in burned and unburned forests since 2002, trying to understand how owls and forest fire interact. Understanding the effects of fire on flams and other sensitive species may shape future pine forest conservation plans. An associate professor of biology at Colorado College, Linkhart teaches courses in ornithology, ecology, and field biology. He has studied forest raptors for over 25 years and is considered the country’s leading expert on flammulated owls. He has studied flams in Pike National Forest since 1981.
The talk will be held at Colorado College in the Tutt Science Center Lecture Hall, first floor. The event is free to the public, no reservations required.
-Melissa Barton
Photo Credit: USGS/Greg Lasley (click for larger image)
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