We were surprised to discover how screech owls take night crawlers to their
nest. We started our discovery on Saturday night when our first photographs
of a night crawler showed the worm stretched forward like a straw.
After the shots Marlin took night, it is becoming clearer what is happening.
The owls are swinging the worms through the nest hole first as they approach
the hole. This behavior is happening almost 100% of the time on the photos
we have taken of them bringing worms.
About the only time the owl is not tossing the worm is once when the owl
also has a grip on the worm in both his beak and with his foot. Do you
suppose he uses his foot to toss it forward at the same time he throws his
feet forward to land on the perch?
About 2:30 this morning the flash batteries began to fail. Even so, there
are a couple shots I like. The second shot after the main flash failed
(backlight still worked), the screech owl is bringing in a crayfish. This
is the first time we have seen a crayfish come. I hope he repeats this when
the batteries are fresh.
Photos can be seen in the "Owl, Screech, 2010 Nest" at this link:
http://www.naturefriendmagazine.com/photos/
Another interesting behavior we saw last evening concerns the owls that are
feeding in our yard. Both parent birds were present much of the time. The
smaller bird (we assume male) is usually silent and does the catching of the
mice. The larger bird often calls, and to my knowledge has never taken a
mouse. However, the hunter will often take the mouse to his mate and return
for another almost immediately. While we have known this is what he must be
doing, we usually do not see the transfer of prey. Last evening we got a
very good look at this behavior. The hunter then returned for another while
the mate headed toward the nest (we assume).
The birders with the Rockingham County Bird Club that were on a fieldtrip to
listen for nightjars stopped by to listen for the chuck-will's-widow. They
got in on part of the screech owl dinner. Minutes after they left, the
chuck-will's-widow cut loose very close to our yard. We were afraid they
may have missed this and Marlin went after the birders to let them know.
However, they were had heard it from a neighbor's yard. They also heard a
second one calling, I believe.
Kevin Shank
Union Springs
Rockingham County
P. S. I am aware that some computers don't readily scroll the list of
folders at the link above. We are working on this issue, but meanwhile here
are a couple of tips to try if you have trouble viewing the list:
1. Cursor should be over list when trying to scroll, not over photos. When
scrolling photos, cursor should be over photos.
2. Click "full screen" icon at top right corner of picture area
3. Click background
4. Click on a folder you can see, and then tab downward or use down arrow.
When at desired folder, press enter. This should work even though you are
not seeing the folders. Here is a list of folder names in order so you can
count tabs to the folder you wish to select.
Bat, Little Brown
Bear, Black
Bluebird, Eastern
Blue Jay
Buck Moth
Bunting, Indigo
Bunting, Painted
Cardinal, Northern
Caverns, Luray
Chickadee, Black-capped
Chickadee, Carolina
Crossbill, Red
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed
Finch, Gold
Finch, House
Flicker, Yellow-shafted
Flycatcher, Great-crested
Grosbeak, Rose-breasted
Grouse, Ruffed 2008
Grouse, Ruffed 2009
Hawk, American Kestrel
Hawk, Sharp-shinned
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated
Mockingbird
Nighthawk
Nuthatch, Red-breasted
Nuthatch, White-breasted
Oriole, Baltimore
Owl, Barn
Owl, Barred
Owl, Great Horned
Owl, Screech, 2009
Owl, Screech, 2010
Owl, Screech, 2010 Nest
Phoebe
Siskin, Pine
Snake, Timber Rattlesnake
Solitaire, Townsend's
Sparrow, Fox
Sparrow, Harris'
Squirrel, Gray
Swallowtail, Pipevine
Swallowtail, Tiger
Tanager, Scarlet
Thrasher, Brown
Towhee, Rufous-sided
Tufted Titmouse
Warbler, Black-throated Green
Warbler, Pine
Warbler, Yellow-rumped
Woodcock, American
Woodpecker, Hairy
Woodpecker, Pileated
Woodpecker, Red-bellied
Woodpecker, Red-headed
