[birding] Small-owl chorus for Valentine's Day

[Joel Geier]

Hi folks,

One of the nicest thing about weekends is the lack of pre-dawn traffic.
When I went out to get the paper at 5:30 AM, one loud diesel pickup
rattled past, but after if crested the hill, there was a quiet period
close to ten minutes. 

A NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was "singing" on the ridge above our place, so I
walked up behind the house to hear it better. From there I heard a
WESTERN SCREECH-OWL answer once with a tremolo call, and I thought I
could hear a second Saw-whet Owl tooting, far off to the south.

If any of you are thinking about going out to listen for small owls
calling spontaneously, tomorrow (Sunday) morning might be ideal in terms
of weather, time of year, and low traffic volume. 5 AM to 6 AM seems to
be a good window of time.

If you're new to owling, I'd suggest listening in any place along the
edge of the valley where you have some dense conifers or mixed forest
abutting open areas -- including neighborhoods around town where there
are plenty of trees. Chances are that you have both screech-owls and
saw-whets within two miles of where you live, anywhere in the mid-
Willamette Valley. The main requirement is enough quiet to hear them. A
thermos full of your preferred hot beverage is a good accessory for this
type of owling.

If you hear a GREAT HORNED OWL, might as well move on or wait for
another morning. One's calling behind our place as I write this, and the
small owls have clammed up.

Happy owling,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis