I’ve been enjoying the distinctive trill of the Eastern Screech Owl in my pine woods this summer. Almost every night, its clear back-and-forth communication with its mate resonates first on the mountain side of the house and then on the river side. The sound seemed spooky as a child and used to terrify me, but now it’s like music!
How glad I am this morning to find that April Moore has featured this bird in her wonderful Earth Connection blog, and after reading it, I feel I’ve come to know this small owl a lot better. Head on over to April’s blog and enjoy her post:
http://www.theearthconnection.org/blog/2013/09/an-ode-to-the-screech-owl/
If you aren’t famliar with the call of the Eastern Screech Owl, here it is on YouTube. I bet you’ll recognize it:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOMCHegQA7A
CONNECTION SPOTLIGHT: Little Free Libraries
Isn’t it interesting how our attitudes evolve and just a little bit of information transforms a fear into a comforting sound that says home. I love the information you share that so beautifully connects us to our nature roots, Elizabeth. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this lovely comment, Mimi. Yes, these “paradigm shifts” can be quite remarkable, and knowing they can occur should help us deal more creatively and constructively with other fears and negative attitudes.
Thanks for the you-tube link, Elizabeth. Now I know what that sound is.
On our way to Lunch-Bunch last week, we passed an accident just north of our house. I commented as we went by “My, that’s a big black dog!” Turns out it was a newly kicked-out-of-the-den bear that had been hit by a car, right there in Maurertown.
Oh my…we’ve had to do without our bird feeder since spring because of the black bear’s propensity for demolishing it in a single nocturnal visit. But I still don’t like to see them harmed. I wonder what’s pushing them out of the mountains down into the dangers of human population.
I guess I’ve been too long in the suburbs and cities. I have never seen an owl of any sort except in zoos. How I long to be in the country with animals of all sorts.
Here’s the thing about owls — even if you live in the country, you don’t see them that often. But your point is well-taken: there are sights and sounds in the country, you are not going to see in town. Getting out to your nearest parks and zoos is one way to counteract “Nature Deficit Syndrome” which many considered a real societal problem, especially for children who have never enjoyed any aspect of living close to nature.
Thanks for writing!