We’ve seen six kinds of owls at our place: eastern screech owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl, barn owl, great horned owl and barred owl.
Eastern Screech Owl
The eastern screech owl is widespread east of the Rockies but uncommon. It’s a stocky little owl with ear tufts and averages 8 inches in length. The owls occur in two color phases, red and gray. Only a third of the owls are red. Despite their name, screech owls do not screech. Their call is a descending, tremulous whinny, often ending with several notes on the same pitch. They are solitary birds and strictly nocturnal. Their food consists of insects and mice. They spend daylight hours in cavities, including man-made bird boxes, or perched next to tree trunks where they blend amazingly well.
During the winter, we have seen both color phases (red and gray) in the wood duck boxes at the pond. While in grad school I inherited a pair of red screech owls. Both were hand-raised from eggs, a male (PD) and a female (Cricket). PD, named after the Pee Dee Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, where the eggs were rescued, loved to be scratched behind his ears and would close his eyes and bask in pleasure. Cricket would bite me if I tried to scratch her. I’ll never forget their nighttime calls from the flight cage I built for them, which happened to be in the basement of the house we were renting. One night when we were having a party, they happened to get loose, but that’s another story.
Short-Eared Owl
The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands such as meadows, marshes, prairies and tundra. It nests in northern Canada and Alaska and winters south to northern Texas. It’s a medium-sized owl with a large head and a short, rounded tail. It has tiny ear tufts which are difficult to see, just little bumps on the top of its head (see the two photos).
The owl is heavily streaked and has a whiteish face with dark patches around its yellow eyes. It is the most aerial of our owls and often flies during the day, especially near sundown. It flaps and glides over the prairie with deep wingbeats and looks like a huge floppy moth.
Snowy Owl
The snowy owl is a large white owl that breeds mainly in the arctic tundra. Males are nearly white; females have prominent black markings. They have yellow eyes. Most owls sleep during the day and hunt at night. Snowy owls are often active during the day. The owls will migrate south during the winter, following their prey which consists mainly of rodents, but also other small mammals and birds.
The picture is one I took of the owl on a utility pole along Hwy 75 on the way to Bartlesville. On the way back, I saw a red-tailed hawk fly across the four-lane to get something in the grass on the other side. I told a friend, “If the owl did that too often, eventually it would be hit by a vehicle.” And, sure enough, that’s what happened. Several days later, it flew across the road and was hit by a car and killed. How sad, to come all the way from the arctic, only to be killed in Oklahoma.
Long-Eared Owl
The long-eared owl is a slim owl with long ear tufts, a rufous facial disk, yellow eyes and long wings. Its diet consists mainly of rodents. The owls are in our area only during winter because they nest in the far north. Their hearing is remarkable. It is so acute that the owl can catch prey in complete darkness. We’ve only seen one on the property.
We were walking around the pond one morning and saw the owl perched in a bush next to the trail. We passed half a dozen feet from it, and it didn’t move. Just sat there in the bush. I regret not going back for a picture, but that was before I started taking pictures of everything out here.
Barn Owl
The barn owl is a medium-sized, long-legged owl with a white heart-shaped facial disk. It is the most widely distributed owl in the world. Its coloring is gray and cinnamon above and white below. The owl lives in open habitats like farmlands, grasslands, meadows and forest edges. They often nest in barns and abandoned buildings.
During grad school days, I found a barn owl nest with three youngsters on a platform inside the top of a silo. There was a ladder attached to the wall and I was able to climb to the platform. The youngsters would hiss at me each time I approached the nest. I have a slide of them somewhere and one of these days I’ll find it and digitize it. The barn owl call is a harsh hissing or screeching sound. Diet consists mainly of rodents. I’ve seen them several times near the pond.
This is a nest box I put up for them. Hundreds of these nest boxes are used in the wine country of California to attract the owls, which help to control the rodent population that chew on the vines.
Great Horned Owl
The great horned owl is a large, powerful owl. It averages 22 inches in length and is a fearsome hunter. It is widespread across North America and can be found in all habitats from forests to the suburbs. The owl doesn’t build a nest but uses an old nest made by another bird such as a hawk, crow or heron. They capture a variety of prey, including mice, squirrels, rabbits, skunks, cats, crows and other owls and hawks. Their call is a deep resonant four-to-six hoots. We hear them during the late fall and winter calling from the pond and the pine grove.
Although the male is smaller than the female, his call is deeper than hers. Since we heard them calling from the pine grove, I put up a box for them to nest in, but they never used it. A pair of red-shouldered hawks took over the box, enlarged the nest and raised young. The first year they fledged two young and last year they had three babies, but crows killed them. They didn’t nest this year. The original nest box is still there but I’ve added another larger tub for the owls to use as a nest. It’s in a pine tree along the south fenceline (see photos).
Barred Owl
The barred owl is only slightly smaller than the great horned owl, averaging 21 inches in length. The back is brown with white mottling and the breast is darkly streaked. The round head does not have ear tufts. The barred owl and barn owl both have dark eyes. Food consists of many kinds of small animals, including rodents, rabbits, birds, amphibians and reptiles.
They are found in mixed forests with large trees, often near water. They nest in tree cavities. Their four-note hooting call has been described as “Who cooks for you.”
