Owls Archives - Page 115 of 132

December 25, 2007December 21, 2020Owls

Where’s LEO?

On Christmas Eve day, we had three Long-eared Owls in their favorite tree. But on Christmas day, I could only see two. Where’s LEO number 3?

The most visible of the two on Christmas day.

December 24, 2007December 21, 2020Owls

Eastern Screech-Owls on Christmas Eve

I watched an Eastern Screech-Owls fly out on Christmas Eve.

This one stayed asleep for the longest time.

Then after being awake for a few minutes.

It’s amazing how owls change shape. Look at this photo and the one above it. See how the feathers puff out to create what looks like a chin.

Always a look right and a look left before fly out.

Then very quickly the other owl appears.

I couldn’t photograph them, but we had two copulations tonight.

The owls scoped out their old cavity from last year. This one watched as the other one went in.

They stayed around but it was cold, so we left before they did. A rare event.

December 17, 2007December 21, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks, Owls

I started out doing a sweep around the pair of Eastern Screech-Owls, where we’ve lost track of one of the owl’s daytime roosts. I started out at a tree I thought was a likely candidate, and heard two crying squirrels. I looked around and saw a first-year juvenile Red-tailed Hawk finishing up a meal. The prey had already been well eaten at this point, so I couldn’t figure out what was for dinner.

I went down to the regular cavity and there was no sign of an Eastern Screech-Owl until quite late. There was this first glimpse at 4:42.

A real look didn’t occur until almost 5:00 p.m. I don’t know if it was the extra light from the reflection off the icy snow or the cool temperatures that delayed the fly out.

We had the usual look left, look right exploration of the suroundings. The fly out was at 5:19 p.m. I missed the actual fly out and could not find the bird after it had left the cavity.

December 15, 2007December 21, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks, Owls, St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Owls and Hawks

On Saturday, I started birding at the Long-eared Owls. Both were visible.

The second owl, which is usually impossible to photograph finally had some light.

I then when north, trying to do a practice run for the Central Park Bird Count. On my way north I found an adult Red-tailed Hawk that was having fun scaring the hundreds of Grackles north of the Reservoir.

As I kept track of the Red-tail, I ran into a Screech-Owl. Needless to say, I was side-tracked by the owl for the rest of the afternoon.

Not exactly. There were two owls in the cavity.

One of the owls after fly out. I couldn’t figure out if it was the first or second to fly out.

December 9, 2007December 17, 2020Owls

Eastern Screech-Owls on Sunday

I felt I had neglected the Eastern Screech-Owl pair, while looking for the other Screech and the Long-eareds, so I went back to see them on Sunday evening.

When I arrived one of the owls was already visible. We would quickly find out that the owl was sleeping alone. After fly out, the second owl came to join its mate, and they quickly copulated. They then stayed close by. They moved from tree limb to tree limb, but they seemed in no rush to fly off.

After about ten minutes, they slowly flew from tree to tree making their way to the top of a hill and then went across an exit road from the park. We lost one of them, but were able to keep track of the other as it moved into a children’s playground. We were able to keep track of the owls for forty minutes after fly out.

What may be the crimped end of an identification band. This type of band was used for the birds that were first re-introduced into the park and were most likely used for the three fledglings that were just returned this spring.

Our first view of one of these owls on the ground. The owl was in a playground, which was locked up for the night.

An owl on a jungle gym. The bolts and beams give you a sense of how small these owls are.

December 8, 2007December 21, 2020Owls

My Fourth Eastern Screech-Owl Of The Season

I had already seen three Eastern Screech-Owls this fall. One few over my head a few weeks ago in the northern part of the park, and I recently discovered two more which have been the subject of recent posts.

Today, I saw my fourth, which may be a bird I heard over a month ago.

I was following up on reports of a Saw-whet Owl. When I asked around I was told to go to a popular birding spot. When I got there, I heard the reports about Friday. Some had thought it was a Saw-whet, some knew it to be a Screech-Owl, and one couple insisted it was a Long-eared Owl since it had ear tufts.

The bird has been in a London Plain Tree on a low branch. While I was asking people what they had seen, I noticed a small cavity in a nearby London Plain Tree. Tufted Titmice would hover eighteen inches outside the hole, move to a nearby tree and cry out an alarm call. Other birds would appear, and also call out an alarm. They would inspect the other cavities in the tree, even landing on them, but all birds avoided this one hole.

This happened four times, so I had to stay and watch the cavity at dusk. Here’s what I saw between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.