There is a very small, uncommon, pigeon-size owl with yellow
eyes and big ear tufts that may be more numerous in this region
than is thought by the "experts." Apparently it was
its song that prompted old-timers to call it the screech owl, a
name that doesn’t accurately describe its singing in the
slightest and unfortunately does this incredible raptor
injustice.
Very likely there is no other owl species more familiar to a
greater number of people on the North American continent, the
reason being that this owl is a cavity nester and frequently
these cavities occur in large old trees near to where humans
live. There are also many records of their nesting in, for
example, flicker nest boxes and wood duck boxes.
My friends, Elmer and Millie DeCramer in Kewaunee, Wis. had a
screech owl take up residence in their backyard flicker box in
the early 1950’s and provided us with many good views at this
outwardly docile bird. My very first look at one of these owls
happened when my brothers and I were enjoying summer vacation
from school in Kewaunee during the early 1940’s.
One afternoon we were suddenly drawn to a terrible ruckus
being staged by a dozen robins in one of our neighbor’s horse
chestnut trees. Looking up into the tree from close to the trunk
provided us with an immediate answer. There perched a little
screech owl, one of the robins’ mortal enemies, and the robins
were doing their best to drive it out of their nesting
territories.
One of the obvious reasons that owls in general are seldom
seen by people is that the owls are most active during nighttime
hours when most people are inside their homes. Even if one were
to venture outdoors in search of owls you would have a real
challenge on your hands unless you either knew of the whereabouts
of a nesting pair or you were familiar with their songs and could
locate them in that manner.
Another way to get to see an owl is by good observation and
perhaps a bit of luck. One of my weekly readers in the Sturgeon
Bay area called recently to ask if it was unusual to have a
screech owl roosting in a wood duck box, in this case in their
backyard. In fact this is the second consecutive winter that one
of these owls has been using the wood duck nest box located
within around 50 feet of their house.
According to Sam Robbin’s "Wisconsin Birdlife",
screech owls are seldom seen in the northern third of the state,
are uncommon in the middle part of Wisconsin and are fairly
common in the southern third. Arthur Cleveland Bent, author of
the excellent series of life histories of North American birds,
described the screech owls as "savage little brutes,
feathered wildcats!"
Ordinarily they are described by ornithologists who study them
as quiet and gentle. On the other hand, come too close to their
nest of young and they will swoop and dive at you, occasionally
nicking or scratching you with their needle-sharp claws, until
you have left their domain.
Actually their requirements are quite simple. They need open
country for hunting their prey, largely mice in winter, and
nearby cavities for roosting and nesting. Woodlands near running
streams that are not too far from grassy openings are preferred
to these highly beneficial owls. Soon the breeding-age males
will be searching for a suitable cavity for nesting.
He will frequently defend a territory containing several nest
cavities and will roost in a different cavity every night until
the right one has been found. Male screech owls tend to be
monogamous and he will be actively courting his mate by late
winter. Once a clutch of three to four eggs has been laid they
will be incubated for about 26 days before they hatch. If both
male and female adults are gray-phase birds, then all of the
young will be gray. If one of the adults is gray while the other
is a red-phase bird, then there may be mixture of gray and red
young in the nest.
The young will be fed in the nest for nearly a month prior to
leaving without the ability to fly. They can climb but they can’t
fly. It will be another eight to ten weeks, upon leaving the
nest, before the young will become independent. What a wide
variety of food these owls feed upon including mice, songbirds,
rats, locusts, fish, spiders, moths and crayfish.
Its voice has been described as charming, plaintive, mellow
and muted. To many listeners it resembles a quivering, tremulous
whistle that usually descends rapidly toward the end of the call.
They will readily answer a good whistled imitation after dark and
will often respond to a taped rendition of its song.
It is the gray phase screech owls whose color pattern
resembles the bark of a gnarled old tree and provides them with
such marvelous camouflaged protection. Here is an owl that
invariably is important to the wildlife community of the area in
which it lives. Build and erect a flicker or wood duck nest box,
having an entrance hole three inches in diameter, and your
chances of attracting one of these beautiful little creatures to
your neighborhood may be better than you think.
The obliterative markings of this gray-phase screech owl makes it
blend well with the weathered front of this wood duck nest box.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 01/18/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
