Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Or so said the Phantom of the Opera, himself a creature of the night. We humans also have creatures of the night, often in our own backyards, and some we may never see. Like screech owls.
This week, my wife Nancy was returning from her very early workout at the gym and when she pulled up in our driveway at around 6 am, a small owl sailed in front of her headlights across the back yard. It was a screech owl.
Screech owls, Eastern screech owls to be exact, are little fellows, only 7 to 10 inches tall with a wingspan of just 18 to 24 inches. They have prominent feather tufts on their heads and large yellow/green eyes – not that it matters because you’ll likely never see one up close and personal. They are, after all, creatures of the night. And they are excellent hunters.
Owls eat just about anything smaller than themselves, including insects, rodents, shrews, moles, fish, frogs and even small snakes. They have even been known to catch and eat other birds that weigh almost as much as they do. Their favorite meal, though, is a juicy mouse, and I’m glad to have the little owls in my yard because we now have mice beneath our backyard shed. The mice come out at night and in the late evenings to eat birdseed left from my daily feedings. They will eat those small brown milo seeds that most birds won’t eat. That’s why we have mice and that’s why – I hope – our resident owl will take care of our mouse problem.
I am also hoping Mr. Owl will find a mate and nest in one of our backyard trees. The white maples in our yard are well over 50 years old and as such, have lots of cavities and hollow places that woodpeckers – and owls – use for nesting.
Screech owls begin nesting as early as February and continue into summer. A screech owl nest typically holds 4 to 5 eggs. One of the smallest of Virginia’s owls, the screech owl will nest in boxes if one is available. But I’m hoping our owls will use a hollowed out spot in one of our trees. Even if owls nest in your yard, you many never see them. They are very reclusive, but you may hear them.
They call mostly in the spring and occasionally in the fall. The sound is described as a soft, mournful whinny, or sometimes a tremulous whistle that rises and then falls. The long trill of rapid notes is a call between males and females.
The screech owl is extremely well camouflaged. They can roost in a hollow tree during the day, often sitting at the entrance, huddled close to the tree trunk. They appear to be part of the tree, like a dead branch with twigs.
Perhaps if I got up before first light, I might be able to catch a glimpse of our resident screech owl – then again, I also am a creature of the night and like to get my sleep. I think I’ll just settle for just listening for a screech or two.
