First of all, it is a truly gorgeous night! I stood out with the neighborhood screech owl for about 20 minutes, until it started getting a bit too dark.
I was walking Blake and heard a screech doing its trill call and I knew that the owl had been sitting in its hole, so I walked down that way to see if it was the owl in the hole calling, or a second one. I couldn't tell! I watched the owl in the hole for a long time - it must be a ventriloquist!
I walked beyond the tree, where it couldn't see me, but I could watch where the hole is and could see if it flew. I heard the calling from that direction, but it was very quiet, so it sounded far off. I gradually moved to where I could see the owl again, but still couldn't tell if it was calling or if it was another bird. Its mouth wasn't moving at all. Finally, I saw it! The throat collapsed when the sound stopped! I also saw it move its head and open the eyes wide and look at something.
I still have more questions than answers! Is there a female with eggs is the biggest question?!! Time to go do some more research.
Had a red-winged black bird at the feeder today, the bluebirds are still here and the juncos haven't left yet.
LATER... Too funny. I'm reading the info on Cornell, Birds of North America site (wonderful, detailed info!) http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/165/articles/sounds
and it said:
"Adults sing faintly inside nest cavities or close to family members and may seem ventriloquistic"Another interesting tidbit from that page:
"Monotonic Trill is pair and family-contact song, variously called Bounce, Tremolo, Secondary Song, Warble (Gehlbach 1994c). It is mostly on a single pitch, 3–6 s long, but may rise or fall slightly at the end. Male trills when advertising nest site, courting, and arriving at nest with food; female trills to induce fledging."And:
"Males and their incubating-brooding mates sing antiphonally day and night, whereas neighboring males sing synchronously at night (Monotonic Trills). Male trills are more frequent closer to sunset and become shorter as nesting progresses. Nesting males mostly give Monotonic Trills, postbrooding females give more Descending Trills and predator-recognition calls, but males increase Descending Trills and calls after fledging. Trills are more frequent during gibbous and full moons and before stormy weather. Male’s voice stimulates female vocalizing (Gehlbach 1994c)."Apparently they have many more vocalizations than the trill, whinny and screech.
"Hoots are the same pitch but sometimes descend slightly; they denote mild alarm at intruders and potential predators. Bark is a loud, single, high-pitched hoot given by more anxious individuals likely to attack. Screech is a single loud, piercing or grating call by agitated owls, often during physical defense of nests or fledglings, and can resemble a squawk or scream; it has many variants. Rasp is a rough grating call, usually falling in pitch; nestlings use it as a food-begging call, and adult females use apparently the same Rasp in food-begging during courtship. Chuckle-Rattle is a rapid 3–4 note call, accented on the last note which may be higher pitched. In mobbed adults, it may be longer and grade into a high-pitched cackle; Chuck-Rattle signifies intra- (nestling) or inter (adults) specific annoyance at benign intruders."Also learned that the females, even when brooding, will sit in the hole for a short time and take a break. Will also leave at dusk and sometimes dawn, to bath, eliminate waste, eat.
