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Bird's-Eye View: The hoo, hoo is easy; it's the where that's hard
Don C. Johnson Photo
Eastern Screech-Owls are more likely to be heard than seen.
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Published: December 30, 2008
You can look right at it without seeing it -- even if you know it's there.
The screech-owl sits motionless in the opening of the tree cavity, its eyes closed, its camouflage blending in perfectly with the gray bark of the tree. It's like an optical illusion. You look at the picture and see one image. But if you look at it long enough, a very different picture becomes apparent.
I had been looking at this image for several seconds when the bird helped me out. It opened its big, round yellow eyes and it all came into focus.
The Eastern Screech-Owl is one of three owl species common in our area. It is by far the smallest of the three, the Great Horned and the Barred Owls being the other two. In addition to the wilder areas, all three of these owls are often found in urban areas. I've heard each of them in the trees surrounding my house in the middle of town.
Whether urban or rural, these nocturnal birds are easier heard than seen, and so it was of great interest that a screech-owl was seen repeatedly in Reynolda Gardens. Kim Brand, a keen-eyed member of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County, had spotted the owl and the word passed quickly among local birders. I met Gene Schepker, another member of the local Aububon Society, at Reynolda several days later. He led me to the site where the screech-owl was seen. This is a popular park for walkers and runners, and foot traffic really picks up on weekends. It was a little surprising that this shy bird selected a roost just a few yards off one of the busiest paths in the park.
Screech-owls roost and nest in tree cavities that have been formed by storm damage or excavated by woodpeckers, especially those made by the Northern Flicker. Males usually establish territories that have three or four suitable cavities in them.
The roost housing this owl was probably from storm damage. It was only 6 feet off the ground and visible from the pathway -- if you knew where to look. The owl was inside the cavity when I arrived. Several small birds seemed to know it was there and were keeping a close watch on this threat. Titmice and chickadees hopped around the cavity entrance, often looking inside. They were keeping tabs on the little owl to make sure they didn't wind up being his dinner.
Screech-owls have a remarkably diverse diet. They will eat just about any sort of animal that is smaller. They eat birds, rodents, fish, grasshoppers, crickets, other insects, salamanders, frogs, toads, earthworms and even snails. They are year-round residents of the eastern United States, and their taste for a wide variety of prey probably helps make sure that they can find food over winter, as well as in the warmer months.
This is the only North American owl that has two distinctly different color morphs or forms: gray and rufous -- a rusty, reddish color. In some areas, an intermediate coloration, a brownish form, may be seen. In most areas, the gray phase is the more common.
In addition to naturally occurring nesting and roosting cavities, screech-owls will readily use artificial nest boxes. Some people put up boxes designed specifically for these owls, but they have also been known to use wood-duck nest boxes.
The name is clearly a reference to the sound it makes, and this bird does have a screechlike call that it sometimes uses when it is alarmed or defending its nest. But there are two other vocalizations that are heard far more commonly. They serve different purposes. One is a monotone trill that is used by both sexes to maintain contact with mates and their youngsters. The other is a tremolo that goes down the scale. This call has been compared the whinny of a horse and is used mainly to warn other screech-owls that the territory is occupied.
Don't bother looking for screech-owls. They are too hard to find, and it would leave you frustrated.
But if you go birding often enough, you will certainly have experiences equal to seeing a screech-owl.
And that's what birding is all about. It is getting out and enjoying nature. And it is those rare and fortuitous moments, when you happen upon a beautiful view of a great bird, that make the effort worthwhile.
■ Bird's-Eye View is a joint column by Ron Morris and Phil Dickinson. Today's column was written by Morris. Morris retired after 24 years as curator at the N.C. Zoo. He has studied birds around the world and is currently the vice president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County. Dickinson is a legal writer. He has been an active birder for 15 years, and is a past president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County and heads the conservation committee. If you have a birding question or story idea, write to Bird's-Eye View in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101-3159, or send an e-mail to birding@wsjournal.com. Please type "birds" in the subject line.
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