Words On Birds 10-11-24

 

     I was awakened just before 5am one morning last week by some familiar hooting in our back woods. “Who cooks for you…who cooks for you’all” was repeated one after another in short time. Barred owl!

 

     I went out to the kitchen to switch on our speaker from our outside microphone. By then, a second owl had joined in the conversation and they did a quick duet, ending in an exchange of monkey-like gibberish. Then it went silent.

 

     I returned to bed and found it difficult to go back to sleep. About twenty minutes later I heard another very short series of distant “who-ah” in a downward slur. Also, typical barred owl talk. Short and sweet. Then I heard no more. 

 

     I ended up staying awake until the sun came up. I guess I needed to be sure that there were no other conversations outside.

 

     When Margo awakened, I told her about the barred owls. Her immediate reaction was to say “They eat screech owls!”  Well, she was right, they do. But we hear the barred owls so infrequently that they don’t seem to be a threat to the many screech owls that we have in the middle of Essex. 

 

     Barred owls prefer deciduous woods with a pond or stream nearby. I would think that the narrow track of woods behind us, that follows the stream to the Essex marsh a quarter of a mile away, would not be enough territory for them.  Upstream the water wanders through larger tracks of woods and, eventually to Chebacco Lake and the expansive Chebacco Woods. That would be the territory from which these large owls occasionally wander.

 

     We haven’t heard the barred owls since. There has been no sign of our wintering screech owl(s) yet, but it is still is a bit early. As the temperature drops and foliage falls, the screech owls will likely be seeking more cavities in which to roost. We are hoping that they will return to at least one of our two boxes for the winter.

 

     If you have a screech owl box up, now is a good time to check it and clean it out if necessary (which is true for any of your bird boxes.) Put some clean wood chips in the bottom of the owl box.  If you are thinking about adding a box, now is a good time to do it. 

 

     The new Scott Weston & Jim Wright book, The Screech Owl Companion, has everything you need to know about these fascinating small owls. Scott shows you how to build a box for them and has done extensive research on how to make the abode more squirrel-resistant. Scott provides tips on owl box placement in your yard and shares with you his research on nest cams – cameras to install in the box so can watch them inside. 

 

     We do carry his boxes (sans cameras) at the store so you can see his current designs and craftmanship firsthand. Scott may assist with placement and installation or answer any questions you may have. You may visit his blog at owloasis.wordpress.com or email him at owloasis@yahoo.com.