The (Not So) Night Owl

  Being in the right place at the right time has to be one of the most special phenomenons to ever occur.  While some folks may have not paid attention or even noticed the ruckus happening at the marsh edge, I could not help but investigate.  I knew that pairs of  Brown Thrashers, Northern Mockingbirds and Mourning Doves all had nests in the general area where the commotion arose so my first thought was that a snake was raiding a nest.  Since I was out hiking about the hillside anyway, I eased my way to the vicinity to see if I could help.  My thinking was probably a bit skewed here since all I was armed with was my camera. That would prove most useless in fighting a snake, I am sure.  Still, my baby birds needed help!  The commotion had started with an almost cackling sound and then was joined by a chorus of twittering and frantic calls.  What had made that cackling?

  As I neared the nesting sites, it was soon apparent that no snake was involved.  A blur flew a bit deeper into the underbrush.  Hmmm...that was a bit small for a hawk and not black like a crow.  The smaller birds followed....as did I.  Soon we were in the midst of palmettos which was not the wisest of moves on my part.  Here, I might just find that snake if I was not careful but my attention was fully on the marauding bird.  With its focus solely on the smaller attacking birds, I was able to get as close as I dared (remember those snake-infested palmettos!)  My bird of prey was a small owl!  Alrighty then!  Aren't owls nocturnal?  

 Not being able to fully see the owl, I decided to photograph it as best I could.  It was a small owl being only about twelve inches in length.  It was grey with darker splotches making it blend well with the tree bark and shadows.  Even with all of the hubbub caused by the songbirds and a clumsy human, the owl was remarkably calm.  It sat while the smaller birds bombarded it from above and only turned to stare at me when I pushed aside a small oak sapling.  As worried as I was about the baby birds back in the nests, I began to feel sorry for the owl.  Obviously, it had little ones of its own and was hunting food.  Why else was it on the hunt during the daylight hours?  This Papa Screech Owl needed to find sustenance for its own babies.

  Eastern Screech Owls mate for life and Papa Owl does most of the hunting for his brood.  Mama stays near the nest and will only pop out for a few moments during the evening hours.  He makes many trips back and forth to the nest with anything he can find to feed the hungry mouths awaiting for him.  I suppose the baby songbirds were just another mouthful.  After I took several pictures, I decided it was time to get my leather moccasins out of the palmettos before I came in contact with a Cottonmouth Moccasin!  (Oh, the things I do!)

  Since I now know that these little owls are nesting nearby, I will be on the lookout for their nest.  In the meantime, though, the songbirds had better be on the lookout for their little ones!  All is fair in the survival of critters.