crayonsss's Journal

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!

I walked to Walnut Canyon with my new camera, hoping to get video or photos of the Great Horned Owls, which I hadn't heard in a few days. We were having a heat wave, and the temperature was probably still about 80 degrees F, at 9:00pm. Walnut Canyon currently looks more like a Halloween scene than a thriving forest. Most of the Southern California Walnut Trees have superficially died from the 5 year drought, but this year, after receiving over 18" of rain, are heavily leafing out, with thick green growth low on their trunks, and bare branches poking out high above. In spring they had masses of flower structures hanging down, and now in summer are dropping numerous dark brown walnuts.

While photographing Narrow-leaf Milkweed flowers on the open hillside, I heard barking coming from high in the Walnut Woodland. It sounded like a small dog giving a high-pitched "yip", every 3 or 4 seconds. The barking grew louder as I made my way along the trail, aiming my flashlight at the ground to see where I was walking. At the top of the trail in the dense forest I walked squarely into a spider web, which caused me to flail my arms, wiping web off my face. (I think I also made a sound like "eeewwwwww!!!") At the instant I jumped and began waving my arms, I heard a branch crackle in the vegetation nearly touching my head. I wondered "did I cause that sound, or did something just move on a branch near my head?"

Now pointing my flashlight higher to see & avoid more webs, I watched a pale spider, whose web I had just ruined, running as fast as it could for the shelter of some Toyon leaves. The barks were still comiing from directly in front of me, higher in the trees. I walked onward, aiming my light into the trees, camera ready in the other hand. I whispered to myself "it's right in front of me", then barking started in the Toyon tree behind me, where the spider had been. These barks were louder, a little lower pitched, at times almost growling, similar to the sounds squirrels make when alarmed. I turned, switched my camera to video, and walked toward the sound, as quietly I could, through the crunchy dried grass, leaves & twigs. Pushing my light deeper past the Toyon branches, the source of the yips came into light- a Western Screech Owl! He was adorable- a bit larger than my hand, compact but broad & rounded, mottled & streaked shades of gray, with large yellow eyes. I could see the feathers on his throat move when he barked. He tolerated my light for a few minutes, then flew across the trail, a few feet away. I resumed searching for the higher voice, again yipping in another tree, and he quickly returned to the Toyon and continued barking, drawing me back to his tree. My guess is this was the male, distracting me from finding a nest & his female. As I left, they could be heard yipping in the Walnut Woodland.

I got one video of 2 minutes, and two videos of 1 minute each. The owl is hard to see, but the sound is good. Early in the 2 minute video, 2 overlapping voices can be heard, yipping. Later the one owl's yips become 2 syllables, like "yip-uh". I don't yet know how to link video to this page.

I walked up the trail in Walnut Canyon one afternoon, trying to net & photograph one of the numerous little butterflies (Marine Blues) that were swirling around each other in the Walnut Woodland. As I neared the top of the trail, with camera in my pocket and net in my hand, Mockingbirds & Scrub Jays were mildly scolding at me (I thought). There was also a soft, unfamiliar sound, a gentle rolling "brrrrrrrrrrrrrr", heard a couple of times, coming from the other side of the Toyon shrub in front of me. I reached the top of the trail, passing the Toyon, still focusing on the tiny bluish butterflies, and glanced left- where my eyes instantly locked onto two sparkling golden rings, surrounded by shimmery copper, further surrounded by the dark & light mottling of a Great Horned Owl! It was two yards away, on a dead branch just higher than my head, resplendent in full afternoon sunlight.

Startled, I said "oooohhhhhhh!!!" Also startled, the owl conveyed to me by expression (or by my imagination) "Gaaagghhhhhh!! What are you doing in my house?!!!!" As it shifted position I said "wait- don't fly away- I need a picture of you!!", while pulling my camera out of my pocket. The owl didn't carre about my picture- it flew away to a distant branch, where Mockingbirds and Scrub Jays there scolded it. I got a poor photo of its back, but you can see the "ears"!
Later, a neighbor told me the GHO's had two babies, which means there must be four of them in the neighborhood this summer.

Note: August 6, 2017: There are at least 4, I watched them fly over me at sunset.