Owls

Great Horned Owl
For years I have heard the deep, arcing notes: "h-hoo--hoo-hooo" of a Great Horned owl, repeated every 20 seconds or so, often every night, all night. That sound, while not always loud or close, penetrates the walls of my house, even when windows & doors are closed. Sometimes 1 or 2 other owls would answer it, seemingly timing their hoots into a pattern. The hoots would come from different locations around the valley- sometimes far from my home, others just yards away from me. A few times I've seen them in silhouette, on trees or poles around sunset, with their "ears" visible even at some distance. To learn about the GHO's in Walnut Canyon, see my previous Journal Post, "Walnut Canyon at Night".

Barn Owl
This year there was an unfamiliar sound coming from Walnut Canyon- a raspy squawk or squeak, continuing most of the night, from more than one individual, for several weeks. This, I learned later, was a family of 3 Barn Owls. They also made sounds resembling dogs barking, cats yowling and a loud whistle. They may have driven away the GHO's, because I would hear the hooting infrequently and usually from a great distance. One night I saw a squawking Barn Owl, silhouetted in a tree across the street from my house. At times 2 other voices would answer it, either with squawks, screeches or whistles. Then another owl, and yet another would appear on the branch beside it, then minutes later both of those would glide away. I imagine they were parents, bringing food to their young one, who was squeaking repeatedly all night, just as the young RTH's do, all day long, while their parents hunt. One night in early June, the 3 Barn Owls, noisy as ever, flew back & forth across the valley, right over my head, flapping madly on very long, silent wings. I suspect the young one was learning to fly, because I have heard them infrequently since then, squawking to each other across some distance.

(Note: July 13, 2017- I may have been hasty in assuming the screeches were from Barn Owls. I have seen Great Horned Owls making the sounds.)

Western Screech Owl
A few years ago, my neighbor, dkeefe, photographed Western Screech Owls near his house. I have heard the hooting a couple of times a year, faintly. Is it faint because it is far away, or because it is a small owl? The hoot, like the GHO, penetrates the walls of my house in the quiet time of night. It has a constant pitch, starts slow, and speeds up, as if each hoot has a half-life:
"hoo---hoo--hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoohoohoohoohoohoohoohoohoohhhhhhhh"

Northrn Pygmy Owl
I know- they are not supposed to be here in the city. I have heard a new hooting, coming from Walnut Canyon in the quiet hours, about 3am, penetrating the walls of my house, heard more clearly by opening a window. I was able to identify it from recordings on The Cornell Lab of Ornithology web page, allaboutbirds.org. This spring I have heard several of the weird sounds they make, and wondered what the heck was making them, but the hooting is distinctive. Imagine the dots that blink seconds on a digital clock face, or the blinking cursor on a computer screen- now imagine each blink is a hoot, never changing in pitch or tempo:
"hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo--hoo"
Repeated a dozen or so times, then a rest, then the string repeats.

Now my mission is to prove the presence of these owls by getting sound recordings of them. Owls are awesome!

Posted on July 4, 2017 12:43 AM by crayonsss