Juveniles leave their natal territory in September. These owls tend to exhibit high fidelity to their home ranges. Some may migrate between breeding and winter seasons, travelling 20-50 km or they may migrate vertically from high elevations to lower elevations in winter. Their home ranges vary from a few hundred hectares to 1,500 hectares. Outside of the breeding season, Mexican spotted owls are generally solitary. However, patterns of habitat use varied between study areas and between individual birds, making generalizations difficult. Ganey and Balda (1994) found that, in northern Arizona, owls generally foraged slightly more than expected in unlogged forests, and less so in selectively logged forests. The patterns of habitat use by foraging owls are not well known, but Mexican spotted owls generally forage in a broader array of habitats than they use for roosting, and most commonly in Douglas fir. Elsewhere, the majority of nests are in Douglas-fir trees ( Pseudotsuga menziesii). In the northern portion of the range (southern Utah and Colorado), most nests are in caves or on cliff ledges in steep-walled canyons. Nesting habitat is typically in areas with complex forest structure or rocky canyons, and contains mature or old growth stands which are uneven-aged, multistoried, and have high canopy closure.
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