This morning, departing my home while it was still dark (about 7:00 AM), I heard the quavering, eerie call of a screech owl nearby. Screech owls are named not for the sound they make, but because of the sound some people make—a screech—when hearing them! Like the whinny of a demonic horse, the screech owl’s call modulates from a soft cry to a quavering sob. At the college where I teach, Brevard College in western North Carolina, a panicked student once claimed in a campus-wide email that a ghost followed him as he ran to his dormitory one September night, but I reassured the student body that he heard an owl instead.
Screech owls occur throughout the eastern two-thirds of the country. In the northern part of their range and throughout the Appalachians, they are most often reddish in color, but more southern owls are usually grey. They are not as shy as many of the other owls, and even occur in urban parks. They can be found in heavily forested areas as well as more open farm fields, near homes, and in neighborhoods that have mature trees.
Screech owls feed on mice and large insects. In turn, they may become food for the larger owls. Once a great horned owl or barred owl begins to hoot, the diminutive screech owls get quiet! As cavity-nesters, screech owls normally require hollow trees in which to nest. They will, however, readily use constructed boxes. By placing a nest box for them, you can attract a pair to your property. On evenings (or mornings) of early fall, you’ll be treated to the strange song of this small owl. Like me, you might smile with the knowledge that the population of mice living in your woodshed or garage will soon decrease while your owls raise their young.
Would you like more information? Much of this post was excerpted from my book Mountain Nature: A Seasonal Natural History of the Southern Appalachians.