THE EASTERN SCREECH OWL
Otus asio
pronounced OH-tus Ah-sih-oh
Otus: Greek “an eared owl” asio: latin “a kind of eared owl”
Gray phase in natural cavity
Ain't It a Hoot!
Wendy & I just love our screech owls (the eastern screech owl). They are relatively plentiful in our area. If you listen for them as you lay in bed at night, you can hear them.
The sound it makes is not a screech. Rather it makes a number of different sounds, or ‘calls’. “Its major ‘call’ is a mournful, descending whinny that sounds like the gentle whinnying or neighing of a horse. Other vocalizations include a rapidly repeated monotone ‘who-who-who’, trilling, barking, and beak snapping” – Dr. Len Soucy.
Because the screech owl is a magnificent creature, we have erected a number of screech owl houses on our property. We have situated each one so that we can see the front of the box from somewhere in the house. In the early evening and/or the early morning, we can sometimes see the head of an owl perched, so very still, in the hole located in the front of the box. The owl looks just like the face of a cat. Quite the sight. If we see one, we say to each other – we have a “hooty”. If on occasion we see 2 different owls in 2 different boxes at one time – we say “double hooty”. Again – quite the sight.
Hawks and owls are both raptors, or birds of prey. Owls are nocturnal (active by night) raptors, and hawks are diurnal (active by day) raptors. But both groups are predatory, with each group active at different times. Both share a number of similar features.
Gray phase in nesting box.
This is what we see in our boxes. Isn't this so very cool.
(Ain't it a hoot!)
Of the approximately 9,000 species of birds living on Mother Earth, about 150 are owl species. There are 19 species of owls occurring in North America, and 8 owl species occur in New Jersey. The screech owl is the most common of New Jersey’s owls, with the great horned owl as #2.
Screech owls are permanent year round residents here, they prefer open woodlands, and they typically nest in a natural tree cavity or one made by a wood pecker. They are easily attracted to manmade boxes. They weigh 6-8 ounces, sport a wing span of 18’ – 24”, and are 7” – 10” high.
This species is dichromatic. That means there are 2 distinct color forms (also called phases). One color is red and the other is gray. Each color remains with the bird for its entire life. A brood (batch of young) may contain babies of each color. Oh yes, they also have tiny ‘ears’ – well, not really ears, but rather prominent ear tufts made of feathers and set wide on either side of the head.
The red phase
The best, and my favorite, owl book is New Jersey’s Owls by Len Soucy. Go buy one of these. Or even better, go to visit The Raptor Trust, a nonprofit wild bird rehabilitation center, located in Millington, New Jersey, and buy one there. The Raptor Trust is one of the largest and most well regarded centers of its kind in the United States.
One of our boxes
Spring & Fall box cleaning time
INSTALLATION OF EASTERN SCREECH OWL BOXES
By R. Wayne Randolph
Flemington, New Jersey
Goals of proper Installation
- must face your home or office (so you can see birds)
- do not face north (facing south is preferable)
- biggest issue is squirrels!!! – this is a huge problem - they take over improperly installed boxes & you unintentionally create a squirrel condominium
Special note
I no longer attach boxes to trees because of the problem with squirrels
Our preferred method of installation
- use steel conduit pipe, 10’ long & 2” in diameter (ID)
- get 2 pipes & 1 coupling (to connect poles) & 1 cap (for top) & 2 metal straps (to attach owl box to the pole)
- cut one pipe down to 4’
- dig hole 3 ½’ deep, bury the 4’ piece, and couple the buried pipe to the 10’ piece. The coupling is above ground, so the pipe is a little over 10’ above the ground
- attach box to the pole – either you can climb up on a ladder after pole is firmly erected or you can attach box to the pole before you install the pole.
- box attached to pole by screwing 2 metal ‘cowboys’ to back of box
Location of Boxes
ideally place box just on the edge of some woods, hedge line, or trees
Box maintenance
- twice each year (spring & fall) clean out the box
- place about 1’’ of pine shavings (included) on bottom of box to contain the eggs
Eastern Screech Owl or American Kestrel
This box can be used for either species of raptor. You are more likely to attract an owl
than a kestrel. Box placement affects/determines box inhabitant.
Any Questions
We have been doing this for 20 years. Feel free to call us to ask any questions and/or to
arrange to come and see how we install & manage our boxes.