I went owling Friday night (Rock Creek Park) with decidedly poor results. I
thought the full moon and the calm cool weather would make it a good owling
night. I had only one Barred answer -- and to answer with a sense of humor.
After an hour of playing tapes in a known territory, my companion and I decided
to give up and move on. As we were opening my car doors, the owl gave a scream
that sounded like a police siren followed by a more typical Barred hoot series.
We didn't see it, but it sounded like it was within 100 ft of us. We've never
heard the police siren call, but if that qualifies as an owl laugh, I'd believe
it.
This is not the first time this particular owl has acknowledged my presence by
calling only as I was about to leave. Not to anthropomorphize too much, but
this fella seems to have a sense of humor. All my other attempts around DC last
night were fruitless for Barred and GHO. And, no coyotes seen either.
But, it was a lovely, still quiet night. Do others in bird land seem to have
better results on full moon nights or nights with less light?
Denise Ryan
Washington, DC
P.S. - If you are a Weather Channel watcher, look for our own VA poster Paul
Pisano on a snow removal today (Saturday).
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
