A Recollection In Honor of National Bird Day

I am about to leave work for the day but before I do I thought I would throw in a particularly boring blog entry.

I have recently been informed that it is National Bird Day. I am a birder, but I did not know anything about National Bird Day. There isn't much in the way of birds out there in the Boston area this time of year. On unfrozen lakes and ponds inland there are some mallards, Canada Geese, and even a few northern shovelers. The trees have some cardinals and black-capped chickadees, but really, nothing out of the ordinary. But that does not mean birding can't have some moments of excitement.

One evening after dark, about this time of year seven years ago, my then-boyfriend, Mike, and I drove into a little ravine to call in some screech owls. This is done by using a recording of a screech owl call to attract any area screech owls. I had done this before with only moderate success. I think I heard the return call of a screech owl in the distance. I did not expect anything surprising this time around either.

Well, if I remember correctly, we had played the recorded call on my Mike's smartphone for about ten seconds when all of the sudden a screech owl dove out of the darkness, right by our heads. It was so surprising that Mike dropped his phone into the grass and until he was able to grab it and shut it off, the screech owl just kept attacking.

Screech owls are highly territorial, but until that moment I had no idea that they would fight to the death. Also, I have always heard that owl wings, particularly their feathers, are constructed in a way that makes them almost silent in flight. Well, I can assure you that when a screech owl buzzes six inches from your head, you can hear their wings.

Maybe tonight I can talk Terry into going out into some little woodlot on a screech owl search. He thinks birding is some boring activity for nerds and old ladies. Maybe I can show him that an agitated screech owl can give the hobby a few moments of excitement.