Can't Sleep? Go Look For Owls

I had the chance to sleep in this morning, but my internal clock didn't care that it was Saturday. I tossed in bed a bit and then decided to use the early morning hours to look for an owl species I hadn't seen since last summer. While my most normal people were sleeping in their warm beds I drove to a nearby canyon and began to call for a Northern Saw-whet Owl. The area was perfect habitat for the species, but I wondered if the mild northern Utah winter allowed the tiny owls to stay higher in the mountains. I was delighted when a Saw-whet responded almost immediately to my call. Standing alone in the dark I looked in the direction of the call. I saw the silhouette of the owl as it flew across the moonlit sky above me. I followed the silhouette and relocated the owl as it gave its "toot, toot, toot..." call from its perch slightly down the hillside from me. I quietly moved down the hillside until I was able to see the silhouette on a large branch above me.

Saw-whets are about eight inches tall and are strictly nocturnal. They feed most actively just after dark and just before dawn. Knowing that Saw-whets are meat eaters I began to wonder if Screech-owls and Saw-whets shared territories. I wondered about this because Screech-owls are about the same size and also eat meat. My brief wondering came to an end when I heard a Screech-owl start calling from some trees just twenty feet away from where I just encountered the Saw-whet. I focused my attention on Screech-owl and listened to it call for several minutes.

I didn't get a photo of the Screech-owl this morning, but I did capture an image of a Screech-owl in the same area a month or so ago. The Screech-owl was a bit more camera friendly and allowed a much closer approach.

As I was about to leave the area to head home I heard the faint call of a Great Horned Owl coming down from the hillside up the canyon above me. I walked up the canyon to get closer to the owl. I then realized that a pair of owls were calling to each other. It is mating season, after all, for the Great Horned Owls. I was feeling quite fortunate after encountering three owl species within an hour, an hour during which most normal people in the state of Utah were sleeping.