Owls

[Larry S]

Two nights ago, just as it was getting almost too dark to see (about 8:45PM) I spotted an unusual-looking form at our front birdbath. I grabbed the binoculars and went out to see if I could get a little closer look, and it flew up into a nearby tree, where I discovered not one, but two owls. They stayed put for several minutes before they flew off.

Last night, hoping for a repeat performance, I went out and sat in the driveway as it got dark, and sure enough, one appeared again, swooping down and fluttering around the base of a large tree before flying up onto a branch again, where I got another brief look.

I talked to Ken Seleske up at the Nature Center and described (somewhat poorly) what I saw. These are smallish owls, perhaps 9-12 inches, rounded head, no apparent ear tufts. I have not heard anything I recognize as a call. He thought it likely they are screech owls; he said they tend to be vocal in the winter, but quiet when they are raising young so as to not attract attention. When I look in my Sibley's, the picture that comes the closest to what I "think" I'm seeing is the gray Adult Screech Owl

The point of this long rambling post: I'm very excited that we might have these guys nesting nearby and I'd like to do whatever I can to keep them around. We live in a semi-rural subdivision (Annetta) next to a dry (mostly) creek bed with lots of good trees and shrubs. Any comments, suggestions, pointers from anyone on being a good steward, or do I just hope for the best? Does the fact that there are two and I've seen them on two successive nights make it likely they are in (or setting up) residence nearby? Would putting up an owl box now attract them (or others) or would they already be nested somewhere by now?

[Robin G]

It wouldn't hurt to put an owl box designed for Eastern Screech owls up. I have one in a red oak tree and have been fortunate enough to have an owl roost in it many times in the past 6 months. I've not been lucky enough to have a pair inhabit it and raise a family yet. Chris' Eastern Screech owl pages are a great resource for learning more about Eastern Screech Owls and he has information regarding building a nest box, on his site.
Robin

http://gargravarr.cc.utexas.edu/owl/

[Larry S]

Robin, thanks very much for the info and link, that's a pretty interesting setup the guy's got.

Ever since I first spotted them, I've been going out to watch each night about the same time, and every night so far they've appeared close to 9PM, hunting and drinking at the birdbath. I now know there are at least 4 of them, so I assume it's mom and dad and the kids. I wandered up and down the creek bed yesterday but haven't located a nesting site yet.

This is a pretty poor photo I got tonight, but - can anybody confirm if this is indeed a screech owl?

http://www.fwas.org/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=226

[Robin G]

You're welcome! It's tricky to definitely say it's an E. Screech owl since I can't see the ear tufts. Also I don't know where Annetta is so I'm not familiar with the owls in your area. I'm sure the more experienced birders here can help. Since you have 4, it appears they've nesting near you. If indeed they are E. Screech owls, they don't migrate so you may be fortunate enough to have them to watch for years to come. Here is a link to a wonderful book I've read, if you're interested. I got the recommendation off Chris' page several years ago.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0890966095/
Also, here's a good page on E. Screech owls which might help you in identifying it further.
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Megascops&species=asio

[Larry S]

That's the trouble with my direct observations as well - I can't see any ear tufts on the birds I've been looking at, nor have I heard that trademark call at any point. If I were forced to pick only from the screech owl types in my Sibley's, they look most like the gray adult.

I've been trying to figure out how to get better photos of them, but I'm very leery of doing any more flash photography for fear of disrupting their hunting and running them off. I'm going to keep looking around to see if I can find where they're nesting and maybe I can get some daytime shots. They've just gotta be nearby!

[Robin G]

I checked my Sibleys initially and then checked another guide I have, yesterday. The second guide mentioned the E. S. Owls can lower the tufts so that probably explains why they're not obvious in the photo you took. I never heard anything out of the owl I've seen in my box except a very slight sound as it sat on the branch of the red oak tree below the box, prior to heading to my front yard where it would hunt from the live oak. I read their territory is in the vicinity of the nesting site. It seems to be an E. Screech owl. Other types of owls would be larger such as a barred owl, barn owl, or great horned owl.

[Larry S]

Okay, I managed to get some more definitive shots last night using a couple of low-wattage reflectors. Now can anybody confirm what this is?

http://www.fwas.org/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=236

[Mary Lee]

What a beautiful photo. I'm convinced it's an Eastern Screech Owl however I'm not an expert.

[Birder 13]

i agree, great photo. looks like an eastern screech owl to me as it looks like one that visited my birdbath several years ago.

[Hookbilledkite]

Definitely an Eastern Screech Owl. It is the only Screech Owl in our range. If you head out to West Texas and the western edge of the Edward's Plateau, you can find Western Screech Owl.

Oscar Carmona
hookbilledkite@hotmail.com
www.freewebs.com/texasbirdingtours

[Larry S]

Thank you, everyone, for the info and the confirmations. I've posted some more of the pics I got the other night in the gallery - this is an absolute delight for me to be able to go out every night and see these guys at such close range!

[Mary Lee]

Your photos are amazing. What a treat! Thanks for sharing.

[Y Cymry]

Great picture of an Eastern Screech-Owl, Larry.

This is how you see them most of the time: with their ear tufts flattened, with maybe just a bump showing. Around the Metroplex there are really only four choices for an owl during the warmer season: Great Horned, Barred, Barn and Eastern Screech. A few other uncommon to rare species are possible in winter. Eastern Screech-Owl is the only small owl of the resident bunch and the only one that commonly resides in wooded residential areas so a backyard sighting is not unexpected.

I saw my lifer Screech Owl in Warren Pulich's backyard in Irving over 30 years ago. I was at a gathering of his students at his house. I don't remember now why I was invited since I wasn't a student, but I was about the right age to be one. During the evening's conversation I mentioned that I had never seen a screech owl, whereupon Warren led us all out to the backyard with a flashlight. Warren made a wonderful immitation of an Eastern Screech-Owl with his voice and in less than a minute a lovely gray phase screech owl flew into the tree and posed for us in the flashlight beam.

BTW, I've never managed to capture a screech owl photo as good as yours!

(Larry--I just found your other posted photos of the birdbath owls. A couple (or more) of these are recently fledged young still showing some downy feathering so you definitely have screech owls nesting nearby.)

Cyn