Thursday, January 11, 2024
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Speaker: Taylor Ellis, U.S. National Park Service
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
Taylor will discuss Marin’s unique spotted owl population, which is geographically and genetically distinct from other northern spotted owl populations to our north.  Northern spotted owls are considered an indicator species of healthy forests and were federally listed as a threatened subspecies in the 1990s and have been monitored closely by the National Park Service and Point Blue since then.    Taylor will discuss the main threats to Marin’s spotted owls, including the threat from barrel owls, who have taken over most of the nesting sites for spotted owls to our north.  He will also discuss what makes Marin’s spotted owl population so unique relative to others.

Speaker Bio:
Taylor Ellis is a wildlife technician at Point Reyes National Seashore, where he implements the northern spotted owl monitoring program as well as monitoring other wildlife species throughout the year. Taylor has been working with spotted owls for 20 breeding seasons since first interning with the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico in 2003.  Taylor received his M.S. in Biology from Sonoma State University after studying the indirect impacts of tule elk on small mammal populations at Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Photos: Northern Spotted Owl
Photo by: Taylor Ellis

Next Speaker – Thursday, February 8, 2024
Snowy Plover – by Matthew Lau, National Park Service