[wisb] Sleepy Screech Owl

From: Paul Noeldner <paul_noeldner@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: wisbirdnet <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:18:45 +0000


Here's a link to a picture of the sleepy Screech Owl in a Kestrel Box that Tim 
Nelson and I were maintaining on Wednesday in Cherokee Marsh on Madison's north 
side http://madisonaudubon.org/audubon/birds/sleepyscreechowlinbox.jpg   We 
like to mount our  Kestrel boxes on long two-by-fours screwed to the tree or 
post with two lag screws so that the box can be swung down for yearly 
maintenance by removing one lag screw without climbing a ladder.  Brand Smith 
helped us come up with this no-climbing design, he also designed a pole-mounted 
webcam that lets him monitor the Kestrel nests by poking the camera into the 
entrance hole without climbing.   But back to the sleepy owl!  This was a new 
Kestrel box put up just this past fall so we really didn't expect to find 
anything in it (dumb, next time knock first?).  However at any rate we lowered 
it quite carefully to avoid damaging the box and it's a good thing we did 
because when we popped open the side door to add some wood shavings, there was 
a funny looking gray and brown lump at the bottom (actually the top, since the 
box was now tipped down) looking up at us.  The little guy or gal just squinted 
and blinked like it was saying, what the heck?  It's world had literally turned 
upside down as it slid to the top-now-bottom.   It seemed to be in a sort of 
sleepy torpor and did not make any effort to fly away.  I suppose this might 
have been part of an owl adaptation to the extreme cold (almost zero), or 
perhaps due to just eating a good meal.  It appeared to be in good health and 
the box also contained quite a number of regurgitated owl pellets.  After 
getting a quick picture with my cellphone we closed up the box right away and 
slowly swung it back vertical and the owl stayed put the whole time.   Our 
initial reaction as to species was Saw-Whet Owl.  This was based on only a very 
quick look at the coloration and streaks before closing the box again.  The 
picture clearly shows feather 'ear tufts' and the winter coloration of an 
Eastern Screech Owl, which is very similar in size to Saw-Whet (just over 8 
inches). http://madisonaudubon.org/audubon/birds/sleepyscreechowlinbox.jpg - 
Paul Noeldner, Maple Bluff                                            
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[wisb] Sleepy Screech Owl

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