Hard to spot the spotted owl.
Despite federal efforts to protect the threatened northern spotted owl population, the numbers continue to dwindle in Washington state.
Numbers of the nocturnal bird of prey dropped five-to-eight percent annually between 1992 and 2002, despite efforts to protect their habitat through tightening logging practices on public land.
Factors contributing to the population slide include: barred owls forcing the spotted owl from their natural habitat, many starving after a record 1999 snowpack, and timber harvesting on private land.
Meanwhile, the spotted owl population in Oregon is stable.