Long Weekend Owls

This past Thursday night I had the opportunity to participate in a volunteer owl survey.  Bird Studies Canada maps out routes that they require data for, and volunteers sign up to monitor them each spring and track target species (in this case owls).  Last summer, while working away at removing invasive species from one of our properties, elbow-deep in Dog-strangling Vine, my volunteer helper Ginny asked in a cleverly-timed manner “hey Kristyn, will you volunteer with me next spring to count some owls?”.  How could I say no to this woman who was quite literally tangled in this horrible invasive vine!  Besides, she had me at “owls”.  I love owls!!  My obsession was triggered by a random encounter with a Barred Owl last spring.  I had visited one of our properties (back when April was snowy..) and been disappointed for a solid two days about the lack of wildlife around.  Mouse poop here, deer tracks there, a lone Wood Thrush singing deep in the forest – and not much else. Until I was walking down a trail, staring at my GPS when I FELT something looking at me.  I slowly turned my head to the right and found a big brown-eyed owl staring at me.  Assuming it would startle easily, like most birds, I didn’t dare reach for my camera.. instead I tried to engage with it by asking “who cooks for you?” in my owliest voice (that’s what their call sounds like, I’m not just crazy!.. hmm..).  It freaked out, its head turning 180 degrees, and then flew up silently into the trees. I know now that Barred Owls are a little braver than most – too bad I never snapped a pic! Anyways, from that moment on – I was hooked.  Owls, owls, owls.  Yet I went all of last summer without seeing or hearing one! The owl-crazy bio who has never heard an owl calling in her life – life is unjust, cruel and cold (tiny violin plays). So I was definitely ready to start the field season this Thursday – owling is to be done on a cold (3C or less), low wind night during the first two weeks of April.  We checked the forecast daily, saw the temp dropping to 0C Thursday and made the call… bring it!

I drove up to meet my volunteer/friend/nature enthusiast Ginny after work on Thursday – an odd way to start a long weekend for most, I realize.  For me, so exciting.  I pulled on my long johns, toque and scarf (odd field gear, surely) and we drove up to Minden where the pre-determined route was.  Ginny told me about her first year volunteering in 2011 when she’d heard several Barred Owls and a couple of Saw-whet Owls – that’s what we were expecting to hear this night, but she was nervous with the early start to spring we might not get lucky.  The survey starts at km 0 – you set up speakers on the back of your car and broadcast a tape that plays for 15 minutes – intervals of silence, and owl calls.  During the silences you simply listen. You drive to a total of 10 stops spaced about 2 km apart.

Ginny setting up broadcast

Our first stop was just after sunset – by stop 2 we were in the dark, and 10 stops later it was 11:30 p.m., frickin freezing, but freaking awesome!  We heard a total of 9 Barred Owls and 5 Northern Saw-whet Owls. In addition to HEARING the Barreds, at stop 4 we had a close encounter with them!  We thought the stop might be a ‘dud’ after a couple of silences on the tape that yielded only silence.  Then all of a sudden we heard it in the distance “who cooks for you?  Who cooks for you allllll?”  We punched each other excitedly (Ginny, like me, is not so girly!).  As the tape’s calls and silences progressed the owls got closer and closer – there were definitely two distinct calls going on – Mr. and Mrs.!!!  The inky night was punctuated with a giant white moon which cast a glow down over us. Suddenly, gliding through the moonlight, I saw the wide wings and heard a near-silent “whoosh”, then the clip of talons gripping the bark of the tree above me.  The owl had LANDED on the TREE ABOVE ME!!!!  Wow!  Then, as if on some cue, the pair of owls began to repeat their call over each other, and as they grew louder they began to “duet”, meaning the call becomes warped until it basically turns into raucous barking as the owls sing together.  Amazing!!  I aimed my headlamp up at the dark form in the tree and saw the whitish body of a huge owl above me – it’s eyes caught my light and flashed yellow and then it curiously tilted its head to the side and peered DOWN AT ME – locking eyes with me, just like last spring all over again!!!  It absolutely made my night.  The rest of the stops were anticlimactic after the close encounter at Stop 4 – the quiet, clear “hoo hoo hoo” of a Saw-whet about 500m away, and some distant Barred calls.  As my toes turned to ice during Stop 10, Ginny declared that we had to end the night on a high note.  So we wound our way back 12 km to Stop 4 and played the tape again – just for fun.  On cue, our owl pair came closer and closer until they were on the trees above us, beside us, surrounding us, peering at us curiously.  Absolutely fabulous! (vid or it didn't happen evidence can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G3mjYVPKs8)

Barred Owl



Northern Saw-whet Owl (omg.. too cute)

I was full of adrenaline, freezing cold, exhausted and grinning when we got back to Ginny’s on Thursday night close to 1 a.m..  The next morning, Ginny joined me for a lovely morning of early spring field work where we triumphantly added a couple of new species to the list for one of our properties, including a small family of Gray Jays, a species at the extreme southern part of its range.  To me they looked like stuffed animals you’d try to win at Wonderland – so BIG and cute and soft and goofy!  That was great – the whole morning was great.  Heard some early Kinglets and Snipes back for the season – saw my first Hairy Woodpecker – actin’ a fool pecking away at a birch tree.  However, I couldn’t get over the owls.  On my drive home I called all my favourite people to tell them about my close encounter with the owls!!!  I was drunk on owls, hoots ringing in my ears, like an addict wanting to stretch the high and already excited to revisit it next year!

Gray Jay

I was happy to get home on Friday and enjoy a cozy much-needed long sleep after the late night with owls and early morning with jays.  I woke up at 5 a.m. and thought “I hear music”.  My next instinct was “what the EFF are my neighbours doing NOW?!” (my trailer park neighbours are notorious for blaring music well into the night and keeping me up).  This was weird though.. melodic.. slower.  Then as the fuzz cleared from my sleepy head, I distinctly heard a question, asked in hoots – “who’s awake? Meee… tooo….”.  WHAT THE HELL?!  Again.. the girl who never heard an owl was accosted by Barred Owls on Thursday and now was being serenaded by Great Horned Owls (“hoo-hoo-hoo! Hooo…hoooooo” aka. “who’s awake? Me too…”) outside her bedroom window the very next day.  I don’t know what about Farmer Joe’s property (my back door neighbor - he has a small farm with a pocket of willows and a small wetland behind our house) suddenly became appealing for these two Great Horned Owls who haven’t been around before – but I was thrilled.  I seriously considered cracking the window and taking a voicenote with my phone so Jeff would believe me the next day, but my feet were suffering PTSD from being so cold on Thursday night and didn’t want to risk going into deep freeze again.  So I lay there, grinning, in the dark, for 20 minutes, listening to these silly owls having a hoot outside my window.  I was so excited after that that it took me an hour to fall back asleep, long after the owls had moved on.

Great Horned Owl

It has been an owl-tastic weekend!  The warmer temps today likely mean the froggies will rule the night tonight.. but maybe my GHOs will pay me another visit at 5 in the morning.  They’re certainly welcome to – I am in lowlve!!!!

Hooo hoo hoo!  Hoooo.. hooooooooo…..