Thursday, April 03, 2008
Owls and Owlets
I didn't sleep well last night, but it wasn't all bad. I was awake to hear the local barred owls calling to each other. But that wasn't all I heard. Mixed in with the adult calls, there was the unmistakable sound of multiple offspring imitating their parents' calls. They made a strange, wobbly, off-pitch approximation of the adult classic hoot (which sounds like "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?"). They called as a group several times through the night, and I assume from the nearly adult sound of the owlets that they are close to fledging, if they haven't already. I still don't know where the nest is, but one of the owls is in a tree near my house right now, scouting out the hunting for tonight. They are likely to get an early start -- it is dark and overcast here today.
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8 comments:
Hmmm... I too listened to the "who, who, whoowhoo" of owls last night. I suspect mine are of the horned variety though...
So did you tell them that PDM does most of the cooking?
Oooooh - a sound I love, and along with a train going by is evocative of mystery and adventure.
ll - Did it sound like this? Great horned owls are the enemy of the barred owl.
wa11z - PDM is laughing now.
tiff - Yes, I also like the sound of trains from a distance (up close they are more of a nuisance). We hear the trains going through nearby Tucker, Georgia at night. Those juvenile owls sounded freaky weird, rather than mysterious. But they'll get the hang of it soon.
Yup. That's what we've got out here, gho's and barn owls mostly. However... I've never seen a barn owl actually in a barn, but I have seen several horned owls in barns.
Barn owls are really weird looking, I think. I don't remember ever seeing any in real life, even when I had a barn. Barred owls (and horned owls) are beautiful. I'd love to know where their nest is, but after a lot of looking (with and without binoculars), I still haven't located it. But hey - they come around a lot and are fairly conspicuous sitting on branches and calling, so I will take what I can get!
That's so cool. If it were warm enough here, I could listen to birds in the morning, but...
kat - some nights we have the windows just barely cracked on account of the cold night temps. We still enjoy hearing the night noises. Last night was a treat - soft steady rain pattering on our roof all night.
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