Had the first-of-season Brown Creeper and Fox Sparrow yesterday morning
(Nov. 2) in my yard.
Eastern Screech Owl note: On Oct. 25, at about 7:45 AM, I heard a noise
in the carport. To my surprise, a screech owl was perched at the front of
my car where the car antenna extends! It was only about 6 feet away from me
at the kitchen-door window, giving me a great view of it--something you
don't get often with owls. It stayed on my car for about 5 minutes,
constantly looking around, before flying towards a nest shelf above the
carport
opening where it fluttered briefly, and then left out the opening. It was
still quite darkish out because of heavy clouds that let forth their rain
about 8:10 AM. I assume the owl had followed a rodent or a bird into the
carport and perhaps hit whatever the animal managed to get behind to hide in
the
carport as that would explain the sound I heard. I felt bad for this owl
as it must not have had a successful hunt during the night to still be
hunting at that hour.
The moral of this story for folks interested in nature is to always check
out sounds around your house! You just never know what you might get to
see. I can't tell you how much I've learned about wildlife by paying
attention to sounds, especially by way of my outdoor microphones. So-o-o-o,
when
I heard titmice making a ruckus out front, as if they had found the owl
(yes, you can tell by the particular sounds the birds make what kind of
predator they are concerned about), I looked to see where they were. They
were
at the bottom of my largest Norway Spruce and, sure enough, with binoculars
you could see the owl about 4 feet above the ground right next to the trunk
of the tree.
Sincerely,
Marlene