Owls are around, scarily, eerily silent in the dark. Nocturnal creatures watch while we sleep, not seen and seldom heard. On a recent spooky night though, two owls made their presence known in the dark of my own back yard.
In the middle of night, as I was drifting off into twilight sleep, I heard an awful screech and was jolted back awake. Shiverer went down my spine as I became away of an eerie Whoo Hoo, repeated three times. The Whoo Hoo sound echoed hypnotically in the dark, followed by another screech, which sounded like it was right next to my back window.
Imagine what a tiny witch on a broom about a foot long would sound like. That was the sound of the screech.
The sound of the Hoot Owl alternated with the screech, which gradually got farther away, as if the creature walking away through my neighbors yard, still within my hearing. Eventually the Whoo Hoo of the Hoot Owl got quieter and stopped.
The experience was strange and eerie. Although I could identify the Hoot of the Owl, the other creature was a mystery. The next day I told my mother about it and she knew what it was right away. She said that owls are very territorial and it sounded like a turf war between a Hoot Owl and a Screech Owl.
I found this interesting. I did have an awareness of the Hoot Owl occasionally, but never have had such a vividly recalled owl experience.
Owl Sounds
Now that I knew that this was a turf war between two owls, and not an injured animal in the back yard, I decided to do a Google search to learn about these predators. Several years ago I visited a bird sanctuary in Florida, and found the mysterious birds to be strangely beautiful. Other than that, my owl knowledge is limited.
There are a variety of owls, such as Great Horned Owls, Barn Owls, Snowy Owls and Screech Owls. According to the Cornell University website, owls have a number of different voices, such as hoots, screams, chitters, squeals, squawks, bill claps and barks.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology released a video recording of owls, called Voices of North American Owls, in 2006. According to the information they have released about the audio guide, there are 19 species of owls found in North America. Owls have different sounds from species to species. The birds use calls to proclaim and defend territories, attract mates, bond with mates, beg for food, express alarm and warn of aggressors.
Curious, I studied the Cornell website to learn what kind owl seemed to be in my back tree.
Types of Hoot Owls
There are several different types of owls that make the Hoot sound, including Long Eared Owl, Snowy Owl, Flammulated Owl and Burrowing Owl. The two that inhabit Illinois are the Long Eared Owl and the Snowy Owl.
It is very possible that the owl in my back yard was a Long Eared Owl, which is pretty special because the species in endangered in Illinois. It could have been a Snowy Owl as well though.
The Snowy Owl is an artic bird, but they winter in the northern United States. It is possible that a Snowy Owl has already migrated to Illinois.
The Long Eared Owl is a medium sized, brown bird with ear tufts and an orange facial disk. The owl is able to hunt mice in complete darkness. The hoot of the male can be heard up to 0.7 miles away.
Screech Owl
The Screech Owl is found is the eastern United States and in southern Canada. The commonly found owl makes its habitat in urban and rural areas. The small own has feathered ear tufts and is gray, brownish gray or reddish brown.
Now I wonder if I will hear the owls again. In the meantime, at least one of them is watching the backyard at night.
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