Spring is a very active time for all types of exciting events that happen outside. All you have to do is take the time to spend a short amount of time in the woods, in a field, by a stream or in your yard to get a glimpse at all the changes that are occurring.
As Spring begins to show itself in SE Michigan, I found myself visiting the roosting area of an Eastern Screech Owl who had been hanging out across the street from my house all winter.
He or she is no longer at that perch, I am assuming that it is protecting a nearby nest. The courtship with another of its species most likely took place during night hours, while I was warm and sleeping in my bed.
All winter I imagined how many pellets must be piling up at the bottom of that roosting tree. Well, today I ventured over and did some collecting. The pellets were pretty damp, so they are currently drying in my laundry room on some newspaper. My husband will not think this is weird. After all, he knowingly married a self proclaimed "bird nerd" and biology geek.
For those of you who may not know, owl pellets look like they might be "poop", but they are not. Think of a hairball from a cat. Well, a pellet is very similar, but contains the fur and bones from the bird's prey. Sometimes one pellet might contain an entire skeleton. What do Screech Owls eat? Insects, reptiles, small mammals such as bats, mice and other small birds.
A little bit about the Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio). When you think of an owl, you probably picture a large bird like the Great Horned Owl or Barred Owl that you see in movies or in photos. Screech Owls are much smaller than this. They are only about 7-10 inches tall, which is about half the size an American Crow (16-21 inches tall). Screech Owls are primarily solitary, mate in late-winter, are monogamous and both adults care of the nest and young. The male will build a nest in a tree cavity, maybe abandoned by another animal or bird, and the quality of that nest will be the determining factor in whether or not he will find a female to mate with.
To learn a lot more about the Eastern Screech Owl, I highly recommend you visit Cornell's website on Ornithology HERE.
