Jody and I were getting ready to get in the car at her place and we both heard a weird noise. I thought some sort of animal was injured or something but it just didn’t sound right. So, we kept walking towards the sound and turning our heads to zero in on it, and we looked up and there were two small owls in the tree above us. One on a branch not ten feet away and the other above and to the left above us. They were calling to each other. We stood there amazed and watched them watch us and then one flew down and buzzed us, or so it seemed, and flew to another tree. The other one closest to us stayed for a while and regarded us, and then it flew silently over to the same tree as the other. At the risk of sounding cheeseball, it was an amazing experience.
After doing some research, my best guess is that they were Whiskered Screech Owls. Most likely a breeding pair, which makes sense as they will begin laying in April or May. You can find more information and hear their call here.
I can really see myself becoming interested in bird watching. I can watch nature and wildlife shows for hours. One of my favorite ones is the National Geographic documentary on the wildlife of the Namib Desert in Africa. I remember watching this in 2nd or 3rd grade at a friend’s house. It was narrated by Burgess Meredith and had so many amazing animals, cartwheeling spiders, beetles who collected morning dew, sand-burrowing sidewinder vipers, and lizards who would moisten their own eyeballs with their tongue.
I’ve been seeing a lot of interesting birds lately. Yesterday I saw cardinals in two different places and saw a woodpecker with little spots and a bright red head.
I guess it is spring, after all. Birds are so fascinating.
Red Headed Woodpeckers are frequent nesters down here, as are those noisy owls.Whiskered Screech Owls used to scare the crap outta me when living in the woods as a kid.
Owls are cats with wings…
I haven’t seen any woodpeckers yet.