Andy Frank: March 2007

WESTERN SCREECH-OWL

March 20, 2007. While walking home from gelato Lisa, Amy and I heard a somewhat distant Western-Screech Owl with its bouncing rubber ball hooting. After going inside, we later heard it again but this time it sounded much closer, perhaps in our neighbor's yard. We went outside and played its call back to it hoping to lure it out in the open and although it continued to hoot, it didn't show itself, and then I thought I heard it hooting more distantly. We went inside and minutes later heard it even louder in our front yard. Back outside again, we played the tape also without response and then tried scanning the tree with a flashlight. Lisa then suggested we walk directly under the tree and look up into the tree. As we did so, the silhouette of the owl, only 10 feet away, was very apparent. We shined the flashlight and got to enjoy this closeup look at the owl who did not seem to mind the light at all. Sally then arrived home just in time to also share the sight, though on her arrival, the owl turned away from us and squirted its whitewash in our direction. We are trying to not take it personally. It then flew a short distance, landed in another branch of the same tree, paused a moment, and then left our yard.