Five years ago, the cutest little saw-whet owl showed up on the porch steps of Deb’s and my house. I shot a bunch of photos, including this one. Since that time, I’ve never seen more than a glimpse of a saw-whet owl on our property. But I sure have heard them! In fact, every night for the past several months, at least one saw-whet owl has been calling. Its calls start well after sunset and continue nonstop for hours.
I have tried to find that owl, but it’s nearly impossible. Saw-whet owls are tiny, and when I head into the surrounding forest with a flashlight to follow the sound, the owl stops almost as soon as it sees the light. I’ve also tried searching during the day. That’s even more difficult, because we have well over one thousand trees on our property—many very tall lodgepole and ponderosa pines. Even if I knew which of those trees harbored the owl, finding it would still be difficult.
The best I’ve done since the one in this photo is see a brief flutter of wings among the branches, one hundred feet in the air. But I will keep trying to find and photograph another saw-whet owl.
It’s good to have goals.
If you’ve never heard a saw-whet owl call before, click this link. Then imagine that call going on nonstop for hours. https://youtu.be/GwgTcxjLnTo?si=_MpDnbLQA_iiiCWx