Night time habits of the Eastern Screech Owl

If you have seen or heard an owl lately, chances are it was an eastern screech owl, the most common variety in our area. And chances are, it was at night, since this is a nocturnal bird.

Recognized by its quavering trill of a song, sounding a bit like a horse whinnying, this owl usually hunts for its food the first few hours after dark. It dines on darn near anything -- insects, amphibians, earthworms, scorpions, snails and small mammals. It also kills an occasional small bird to snack on.

A frequent bather, the screech owl enjoys plunging into shallow water and will also eat small fish.

Birders sometimes try to imitate the call of the screech owl to lure othr birds into view.

Female owls lay four or five eggs which are white and almost round. The male feeds the incubating female and both parents feed their downy white chicks.

Owl encounters are special and my most memorable came on a trip to Botswana in Africa. I was told the bird most sought after on safaris was the Pel’s fishing owl. In fact, our guide said this owl is much more rare than a leopard or a lion.

He said it was much sought after, but seldom seen. So you can imagine our thrill when he finally pointed high up in a tree and said, “There it is.”

At first, I thought the owl looked like a huge wasp nest, but then it moved a bit and I could see a rounded bird with large dark eyes and rich, ginger-rufous plumage. About 25 inches long, and weighing over five pounds, it is a very big bird.

So while I always appreciate our local eastern screech owl, my all-time favorite owl is that Pel’s. By the way, it is named for Hendrick Pel, the Dutch governor of Ghana from 1840 to 1850.