Close encounters with owls (and ducks)

For lack of a more creative name, let’s call him “Screech.” That’s a reference to the little Screech Owl that has set up shop in one of my backyard Wood Duck nesting boxes. I’ll often glance out the back window and he’ll be there, sunning himself at the entrance to the box, his big round yellow eyes peering back at me from across the pond. His presence there means one thing for sure: no Wood Ducks are nesting in that box this spring. Screech Owls have usurped it and they may or may not be raising a brood of owlets themselves.

Fortunately there’s a second Wood Duck nesting box inhabited by the intended tenants (i.e. Wood Ducks). We’ve lately observed a hen Wood Duck feeding in the pond and entering the other nesting box. A few days ago, while a Great Blue Heron was scuffling through a nearby raft of cattail reeds in search of a sunfish snack, we noticed the hen poking her head out from the box to see what all the commotion was about, leaving little doubt that she’s in there sitting on a clutch of eggs.

Two years ago we discovered how secretive nesting Wood Ducks can be. That spring we never observed any Wood Ducks hanging out in the pond or entering or exiting the nesting box, so we assumed it was vacant. We were surprised when, one Saturday morning in mid-May, a bevy of 15 ducklings appeared attended by the mother hen in the pond waters directly beneath the nesting box. My hopes for a duckling photo op disappeared as the mother hen immediately marched them out of there.

Sensing that her little tribe was far too vulnerable given the limited confines of our smallish pond, she immediately shepherded her crew through the back woodlot, over the railroad tracks, across Northbrook Road, and into the welcoming waters of the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek. My next-door neighbor, who happened to be kayaking the West Branch at the time, reported that both the hen and all 15 of her hatchlings made the journey successfully. Given that the nesting box is once again active this year, that same scene should repeat itself in another two weeks or so.

Like Wrens, Bluebirds, and Martins, but unlike Mallards and most other waterfowl, Wood Ducks are cavity nesters, seeking out hollowed trees in nature or taking advantage of man-made nesting boxes in which to hatch their ducklings. Wood Ducks are gaudy waterfowl and Screech Owls are diminutive birds of prey; the one thing they have in common is their cavity-nesting proclivity.

Which brings us back to Screech who I could just as easily have dubbed “Rusty” since he is of the rufous (aka reddish/orange brown) complexion. Eastern Screech Owls boast two basic color phases: primarily gray or primarily rusty. In each phase the birds’ plumage is tattooed with camouflaging markings that lets them blend in with tree bark in their natural habitat. They’re much more

conspicuous against the plain backdrop of a nesting box.

Outdoorsy folks who may have never laid eyes on a Screech Owl have no doubt heard their distinctive call. Somewhat ironically, this owl’s vocalization does not include anything remotely resembling a screech. It’s more of a trilling or whinnying sound. For young overnight campers, the Screech Owl’s repertoire can be eerily ghostlike, conjuring apparitions that might keep youngsters with overactive imaginations up at night.

Back in the day, when I lived in West Bradford, I erected a Wood Duck nesting box along the banks of Broad Run Creek. Within a few weeks that box was permanently requisitioned by a pair of Screech Owls that supplanted any Wood Ducks that might have designs on it. But of all my encounters with Screech Owls, one that occurred almost fifty years ago remains the most memorable. I was driving down Manley Road in East Goshen one night when my headlights illuminated a little Screech Owl squatting on the blacktop in the center of my lane. I ran right over it before I could hit the brakes. After stopping, I threw the car into reverse and backed up several yards in order to check on the little guy.

There in the red glow of my taillights stood the owl, undeterred by the near miss, intently pecking away at some roadkilled rodent. I was relieved to discover the brazen little bird had survived the encounter unscathed. But his eightinch length (with a wingspan of about 22 inches), left plenty of headroom between his feathery scalp and the undercarriage of my ‘65 Ford Mustang. He’s lucky he stayed put. If he had been startled and took flight, the outcome could have been rather messy.

And while Screech Owls are tiny, they’re not the smallest owls residing here in our corner of Pennsylvania. That title goes to the Saw-whet Owl (featured on Pennsylvania’s original “Conserve Wild Resources” license plate) with a length of just seven inches and a 17-inch wingspan. To find the country’s tiniest member of the owlish clan, the aptly named Elf Owl (five inches long), you’d have to travel to our southwestern deserts and search among the cacti.

At the opposite end of the size spectrum is the Great Horned Owl, so named because of its pronounced ear tufts, which, along with yellow eyes, are also a prominent feature of the Screech Owl. At 20 inches in length and with a massively broad wingspan of 55 inches the Great Horned Owl resembles a Screech Owl on steroids. I’ve spooked quite a few of these large predators from their perches when entering or leaving the deer woods during hunting seasons and they are impressive. Imagine a sofa winging its way through the treetops and you get the picture.

I’ve also crossed paths with the Barred Owl, a common species whose “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?” call is a common feature of the springtime turkey woods. My close encounter came one evening as I was herding a few wayward chickens back to the coop when I suddenly felt a rush of air at the back of my neck and peripherally noticed a shadowy movement just above my head. I glanced up through the twilight and there, perched just a few feet away, was a Barred Owl staring back at me. Maybe he was swooping down to snag one of my hens and I got in the way. Barred Owls have broad diets and probably wouldn’t object to a chicken dinner, but downing full grown poultry would be a demanding task for this 17-inch owl.

The reason my ears didn’t detect this owl zipping by a few inches from my head is because it, like all owls, navigates the skies in absolute silence, giving it a distinct advantage over unsuspecting nocturnal prey.

My little buddy Screech feasts on much smaller, more manageable fare including rodents and small birds and mammals along with insects and even earthworms. This owl can also choose from the seafood menu offered by my pond in the form of frogs, tadpoles, and frogs. But studies have shown that

over two-thirds of the Eastern Screech Owl diet consists of small birds or fledglings this time of year.

That Wood Duck hen nesting in the box next door probably outweighs Screech by a ratio of fifteen to one, so she doesn’t have to worry about falling prey to the little guy. On the other hand, when those little ducklings emerge, they might find themselves a bit more at risk. Good luck!

LIVE OWLET STREAMING

If you’d like to check out little owlets hatching and growing up, you can go to http://www.pixcontroller.com/screechowl/ or the Owl Channel at www. owlchannel.com. There are also plenty of other live streaming options available for Googling bird watchers.

TROUT STOCKING SCHEDULE

Since the statewide trout season opened on Saturday, Pennsylvania’s trout anglers are now going full throttle as the folks at the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission continue their in-season stocking program. Local streams slated to get fresh trout this week are as follows: BERKS COUNTY: Ontelaunee Creek (April 17); Mill Creek (April 18); Furnace Creek, Scott’s Run Lake, Spring Creek, Tulpehocken Creek (April 19); Sacony Creek (April 21). CHESTER COUNTY: East Branch White Clay Creek (April 18). MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Unami Creek (week of April 17); Kepner Creek, Stony Creek, Wissahicken Creek (April 18).

TALKIN’ TURKEY

The next big event on our outdoors calendar arrives this Saturday, April 22, when the spring gobbler hunt for mentored youth takes place, followed by opening day for spring gobbler on April 29. More about our upcoming spring turkey season in next week’s column.

TOM TATUM — FOR DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA This Eastern Screech Owl took up residence in a nesting box targeting Wood Ducks in the author’s backyard.