On a lovely spring evening, we as a family were relaxing after a busy day. Darkness had fallen. A friend who was staying at our place was taking a stroll outside. North of the house, he heard something hissing…“Hiss! Hiss!”
He ran back to the house for a flashlight and crept back outside, his heart thumping a little extra hard. When he shone his light around, down, and finally, up, he found what he certainly wasn’t expecting to see. Two little owls peered down at him from a branch! He dashed back to share his find with the rest of us, and we all tumbled out after him. As bird/nature lovers, we never see owls often enough.
Our friend flashed his light around and found two more, and finally one more wee little owlet at eye level. They were Northern Saw-whet owlets. Two huddled together on one tree branch, and, at a little distance, two more peered curiously down at us, the strange intruders. Sure enough, they hiss–hissed at us as we came close. We gazed at the adorable little birds with dark brown backs and heads, and burnt-orange breasts. They each had a white patch on their foreheads.
We reluctantly left them that night, for no doubt their parents wanted to feed them. The next moring they were still there. We called some of our bird-watcher friends, and several groups of people got to see these little fellows.
After the first day, the bigger four disappeared, but the little one seemed too weak to fly. He stayed around a little longer; then one day we found him dead. That was sad, but the close-up of owls we got to see because of him, we’ll always treasure.
For several springs past, we had been hearing a noise that baffled us every time. It reminded one of a goose honking, but several things just didn’t line up. For one thing, it was too early for geese—still too much snow and no open water. It was a constant honk, honk, honk, that just went on and on and on. The sound normally started around 10:30 or 11 p.m., so it was dark—no reason for a goose to be honking at that hour. And, it would go on night after night after night.
Finally we identified this sound as the Northern Saw-whet Owl! This was their call in the spring! We have not yet gone to find them when we hear them calling, but seeing these owlets was certainly a great thing. We hope they choose our farm for a nesting site again!