Chattering Screech Owl
It's been very rainy lately in the Twin Cites--I love autumn rain, so I'm enjoying, but the education birds at The Raptor Center seem to have had just about enough. Many were very antsy yesterday and chattery (one could almost say they were singin' in the rain). One surprise was one of the eastern screech owls was vocalizing--our ed screeches rarely do that. Sue, my crew leader said that the gray phase screech (who is called Squeak) was making all kinds of chattering sounds when the did morning rounds in the courtyard.
We have a new education bird, a boreal owl (above). Sometimes it will start vocalizing. I popped out to the courtyard and played a boreal owl call to see if it would be respond. I played it once and got no response from the boreal owl, but got plenty from the gray phase screech owl:
It was quietly giving its whinny call! It also was trying to give its trill, but sounded more like a tiny rattly engine. I don't know if it's off because the owl hardly vocalizes and is out of practice of if its off because it's imprinted on humans, anyway here it is:
If you look in back of the gray phase screech, you can see the red phase screech owl perched in the hutch.
We have a new education bird, a boreal owl (above). Sometimes it will start vocalizing. I popped out to the courtyard and played a boreal owl call to see if it would be respond. I played it once and got no response from the boreal owl, but got plenty from the gray phase screech owl:It was quietly giving its whinny call! It also was trying to give its trill, but sounded more like a tiny rattly engine. I don't know if it's off because the owl hardly vocalizes and is out of practice of if its off because it's imprinted on humans, anyway here it is:
If you look in back of the gray phase screech, you can see the red phase screech owl perched in the hutch.
posted by birdchick at 7:16 AM
9 Comments:
Was that the red phase screech owl saying "Hey! Sharon!"
That's AMAZING!
Help, I'm dying of cute! Love that little guy.
owls are just too cool.
Thanks for that post, I love learning more about owls!
That has to be the most approval I have ever seen from that rabbit.
OMG...Sharon, our gray screech did the same thing during a program on Saturday! I have never ever heard that bird make as much as a peep outside her mew, but someone walking by our booth stopped to "hoot" at her, and she started churrrrring.
It's a little early for them to be hormonal. Just the change of seasons?
My education screech owl, Archimedes, has been calling lately. But he will NOT call in front of anyone but me. My husband and kids have only heard him in all the 7 years I've had him when they've been outside the door of my office. If he spots them or hears them, he shuts right up.
If I'm in my office when he makes the whinny call and I call back to him, we can go back and forth for almost an hour. But if he makes the trill and I make it back to him, he shuts right up. I don't know what the calls mean to him--he's an imprinted bird originally from Ohio--but boy is it interesting trying to figure it out.
I love the sound of the little screech owl "whinny."
It would be interesting if you could translate what he's trying to say, because the cries are so different. The first one sounds like he's counting and the second cry is more urgent, but was interrupted. Beautiful eyes though.
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