Two Raccoons & A Screech Owl - A Tale in Three Acts: Act III
Never Pass a Cavity Tree Without Looking First
During my childhood growing up in a small coalmining town in southern West Virginia, I often heard the nighttime trills and tremolos of the eastern screech owl outside my bedroom window. This diminutive woodland owl’s haunting vocal performance sent shivers to kids in the neighborhood, all convinced the quivering calls came from a banshee or demon wandering the railroad tracks snaking through town.
I understood how unnerving it could sound, but as the town’s self-proclaimed ten-year old naturalist and birder, I knew what was creating the call and for me it was no cause for alarm. But I kept that fact to myself and just let my buddies think it was indeed some spirit terrorizing our community. Advantage, me. What a brave soul I was not to be intimidated by an evil presence!
Seeing a screech owl was another matter as it is perfectly camouflaged and as a nocturnal species prefers the daylight hours for snoozing in a tree cavity or while huddled on a branch close to the trunk of a tree.
But I was fortunate one evening just before sunset to see two screech owls on a telephone wire above our home. One screech owl was in the red color morph and the other, the gray colored morph, indeed a rare opportunity to see both color phases at the same time.
Years passed before I would see another screech owl and that happened when as a wildlife biologist in southern Maryland, my staff rescued four baby screech owls from a tree that had been cut down. We raised them until they were old enough to take flight.
The owls became local celebrities and were major attractions for visitors to our nature center. We could not ask for better nature ambassadors. Folks were delighted see each staff member with a young screech owl clutching to their shoulders!
Fast forward a few more years and while photographing at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge along Virginia coast, I discovered a sleeping screech owl perched on a limb of a loblolly tree. I spent an hour photographing the owl and since I was using a 600mm telephoto lens, I was at a safe enough distance not to disturb it.
The following morning, I returned to the tree and the owl was still there on the same limb. I figured this was its preferred roosting site after a night on the wing hunting for prey.
After a few more rolls of film (no digital in those days), I left. An image of that owl appears in my book, Between Ocean and Bay: A Natural Celebration of the Eastern Shore. That would be the last time I would see a screech owl, until…
In May 2021, while hiking the same paved trail where, a few months earlier I photographed the raccoon in a cavity tree (refer to Act II), I noticed a small slender tree with a perfect round hole. It appeared freshly excavated with fresh wood chips heaped at the base of the tree.
One morning I heard a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers making a boisterous racket near the tree. As I approached, I saw the pair clinging to the entrance of the cavity. Surmising these were culprits who created the cavity, I also assumed they would be using it for nesting. The case was closed, or so I thought.
A few days later I noticed something inside the cavity, and it wasn’t a red-bellied woodpecker. Time for a more thorough investigation.
The next day I brought my binoculars to get a better look. And there it was, a red-phased eastern screech owl poking its round head out of the cavity. The owl had kicked out the woodpeckers and exerted authority over the cavity.
Here was another potential photographic opportunity for me. The tree was far enough away from the trail for anyone to really notice, and with my 600mm lens, I could also get some respectable images without disturbing it.
For several days, I set up my camera and waited for the owl to slowly pop its head out of the cavity. Once the owl became comfortable with my presence, I would inch just a little closer, but not too close to disturb it.
This little owl also became a nature ambassador as I would show other walkers, especially those with kids, what I was photographing – an advantage of live view from the camera’s LCD monitor.
Nature always yields a surprise or two every time you are in its presence. The only requirements are a willingness to be patient and observant. And one more thing: once nature reveals a treasure, just enjoy and smile. Works every time.
Did you know this about the Eastern Screech Owl?
The screech owl is widely distributed from southern Canada though the United States and into Mexico. Unlike its name, the screech owl’s call is not a screeching sound, but a trembling whinny and a monotonic trill.
The screech owl’s hearing ability is very acute; the rustling of a field mouse on the forest floor or the buzz of a flying insect doesn’t escape the keen ears of this little predator that famed ornithologist Arthur Cleveland Bent described as a fierce feathered wildcat.
Sidebar: Importance of Cavity Trees:
What is a cavity tree? Simply put, any tree that has a hole. The tree can be alive or dead (snag tree) and the cavity either forms when a tree dies or has been created by a woodpecker or some other creature.
In North America there are about 85 bird species that use tree cavities for nesting and roosting. Other species also use tree cavities including mammals such as raccoons, squirrels, and even reptiles such as skinks.
Primary cavity nesters are species that excavate a cavity hole. Again, think woodpeckers. They chip out a new cavity or continue excavating an older or smaller cavity to fit their needs. Even red-breasted nuthatches will excavate their own cavity. Secondary cavity nesters are species such as an owl or wood duck that uses an existing cavity.
Whether primary or secondary, all cavity nesters provide a vital role in our natural world. So, if you have a snag tree on your property that is not a safety hazard, consider leaving it for wildlife. You’ll be glad you did.
Eastern Screech Owl (c) Jim Clark
Eastern Screech Owl in Tree Cavity (c) Jim Clark
Eastern Screech Owl - Red Phase (c) Jim Clark
Eastern Screech Owl in Cavity Tree (c) Jim Clark
Eastern Screech Owl (c) Jim Clark
Eastern Screech Owl in Cavity Tree (c) Jim Clark
Camera setup for photographing the screech owl (c) Jim Clark