Back in New York City, my friends complain that garbage trucks wake them up at 5:30 a.m.. serenading them with urban songs in the alleys between the apartment buildings.
This morning at the same time, I was awakened again by our resident owl. He’s been around a lot this spring. He wakes me up around 5 a.m. If I hear him while I’m walking Shadow, it’s usually very early – just before dawn.
I love owls and used to visit a bird sanctuary at a state park on Long Island, stopping by the owl cages to say hello. So I had to find out more about our friend in Prospect.
I found a great website that helps you identify owls by their call. It’s called Owl Calls & Sounds. I had a vague idea of some species that might live on the east coast of America, so I clicked on a few names until I found him.
He’s a Great Horned Owl.
Way cool.
Here’s what I found out about the Great Horned Owl:
- They are one of the most widely distributed owl species in North America (that means they are common)
- They are about 18-21 inches long
- They like deciduous and conifer trees (good news: maybe they like my pine forest)
- They hunt at night and eat rabbits, rats, squirrels, mice, moles, bats and weasels. If they’re hungry enough they will eat porcupines and skunks!
So now I know who my morning guest is. But since we share very different taste in food, I’m not inviting him in for breakfast!
Great horned owls are awesome birds. We had two in the yard last year,and the other birds were making such a racket, in their attempt to make known that there was danger lurking in their territory.
You’re a country girl now! Aren’t you glad you’re so much bigger than the owl?
Check out our little owl post. He is a Great Horned Owl. http://thequeenofseaford.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-are-you-looking-at.html
Thanks for the owl tips! I sure do feel like a country girl now, although the neighbors continue to call me “that Yankee gal who talks funny” (New York City accent, think Fran Drescher from the Nanny)
Jeanne