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owlman
06-15-2010, 08:40 AM
I am in the lakewood area Dallas and have discovered 5 owls in my backyard but don't know what they are. They're 8 to 10 inches tall, kind of grey tawny, fly together, and they sound a lot like cicadas. Years ago i had two eastern screech owls, studied them, built an owl box, learned the call, watched them for a year. These guys don't sound like any of the calls of the eastern although they're about the same size. Why are there five? Are they adolescents? They appear a little scrappy and disheveled like teens. When I whistle like a Screech owl they really get upset. Does anyone have any ideas?
jpeter
06-15-2010, 05:31 PM
I am in the lakewood area Dallas and have discovered 5 owls in my backyard but don't know what they are. They're 8 to 10 inches tall, kind of grey tawny, fly together, and they sound a lot like cicadas. Years ago i had two eastern screech owls, studied them, built an owl box, learned the call, watched them for a year. These guys don't sound like any of the calls of the eastern although they're about the same size. Why are there five? Are they adolescents? They appear a little scrappy and disheveled like teens. When I whistle like a Screech owl they really get upset. Does anyone have any ideas?

Eastern Screech-Owl

The only small owl common in the Dallas area. You're probably seeing a recent clutch that hatched around late April.

Picture:

http://www.owling.com/eastern_screech_owl1.jpg

I have a pair down the street from me.
owlman
06-15-2010, 07:54 PM
That's what I thought... the thing that threw me off is their call. Nowhere in my internet search did I hear the sound of juveniles (hiss). When we had 2 adults I could do the call (the trill) and they would call back. These guys just hiss at me.

Thanks for your help.
owlman
06-16-2010, 04:12 PM
OK now I'm completely convinced; http://www.littlepearls.org/pinkey.html
The first video on this site plays the exact sound they made.
cyndi
06-16-2010, 05:25 PM
Awww....owls are my favorite. Last summer, we had a nest of ESOs in our yard and had to rescue the babies after we unknowingly chopped down their tree. I actually got to hold the babies in my hand!

Here's a blog post about them with photos:
http://cyndisbirdingblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/eastern-screech-owl.html