Great Grey Owl in Old Growth. Photo credit: Andy Miller
Forest is More Than Timber
By Andy Miller
The Rocky Clearwater Forest is a critical juncture between forest types, representing a patch of biodiversity unequaled in Alberta. It is located at the southernmost tip of Alberta's boreal forest, bordered by montane forests to the south and aspen parkland to the east.
This forest is home to the blackpoll warbler of the boreal forest, the MacGillveray's warbler of the montane forest and to the mourning warbler of the aspen parkland. Nowhere else can these birds be found together.
Getting to know such a special place transcends mere words. The diversity of life held together by an infrastructure of water, luxurious carpets of mosses and huge expanses of forests is astounding.
One clear evening on the Rocky I was out watching for owls. I began calling the small owls first; the pygmy then the saw-whet. Then I moved on to the larger owls, the barred and the great grey. Finally, I called the largest and most tenacious of owls, the great horned. In this fashion, standing in one spot, four different species of owls began calling at once. We held up a hooting conversation, which lasted into the night and sometimes bordered on cacophony. To me this conversation with the birds has meaning. It was as if they told me this place is special, unparalleled. They told me they need friends to speak up for them and represent them in the courts of humankind.
Andy Miller, owl specialist and graduate student at the University of Alberta
