User:Juicygerry/Western screech owl

Description

This brown and gray streaky coloring allows the owl to camouflage with trees and hide from predators. [Source #5].

Nesting

Rather than living in traditional nests, Western Screech Owls reside in cavities in trees, banks, or cliffs. [Sources #1, #4, #5, #7, #8, #9 in that order] Of these cavities, the tree species vary. They include, but are not limited to oaks, willows, cottonwoods, and cacti. [Sources #4, #5 in that order] These cavities are around 1 feet in diameter and up to 1.5 feet deep. [Source #4]

More often than not, these cavities are found by the male owl and were made by natural causes or other species such as woodpeckers. They could nest in these cavities for several years. [Sources #4, #5, #6 in that order]

The cavities serve not only as shelter, but also as a camouflaging device against potential predators. [Sources #4, #5, #8 in that order] The height for these nests range from approximately 10 to 30 feet above ground. [Sources #7, #9 in that order]

Breeding

Western screech owls are permanent residents of the northwest region of North and Central America, breeding in open woods or mixed woods at forest edges. When attracting a female, a male brings her food and creates a series of clicking noises. During courtship, the pair preens each other’s feathers and sing duets with each other. [Sources #4, #6 in that order] Once a male and female become a pair, they produce a clutch of 2-7 eggs. [Sources #4, #5 in that order] The male delivers food to the female as she broods, and once the eggs hatch, the male continues to provide food which the female feeds to the owlets. [Sources #4, #5 in that order] Both mates then protect their owlets by guarding their tree cavity from dangers such as snakes, jays, and crows. The female is inseparable from her young for their first three weeks of life, but afterwards she joins the male in hunting for two weeks until the baby owls are ready to leave the nest. [Sources #4, #8 in that order]

Hunting and Prey

These nocturnal birds wait on perches to swoop down on unsuspecting prey; they may also catch insects in flight. They are active at dawn, night, or near dusk, using their excellent hearing and night vision to locate prey. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice or rats, birds, and large insects; however they are opportunistic predators, even taking to small trout, scorpions, crayfish and smaller birds. Their diet varies based on the season and where exactly they reside. [Sources #5, #7, #8 in that order]

Motion-activated cameras have photographed the birds eagerly scavenging a road-kill opossum. They have also been known to hunt Mallard ducks and cottontail rabbits, occasionally. Hatching of their young is synchronized with the spring migration of birds; after migrants pass through screech-owls take fledglings of local birds.

Conservation Status

Although the Western Screech Owl species is slowly declining in the Pacific northwest, the species is considered “of low conservation concern” due to their nocturnality and general ability to live alongside humans in surrounding trees. Their population is estimated to be 180,000 according to the Avian Conservation Assessment Database Scores. (source 4) In areas densely populated by people, human noise can be a disturbance to their creation of nest cavities and human devastation of forests negatively impacts their habitat. Climate disasters such as fires and heat waves can endanger their livelihood. Humans have made efforts to provide manmade shelter, such as nest boxes, for Western Screech-Owls. The owls have proven to be receptive to these habitats. (source 4, 5, 6)