December 4, 1980 - Owls--the Night FlyersDecember 4, 1980
OwIs--the Night Flyers
A week or so ago on a glorious clear
night with a full moon, I walked the dog
and, because of the beauty of the night, our
tour stretched a bit farther than usual.
This time, besides his regular stops
along the way, we headed down past the
garden by the old black cherry trees
alongside the pond.
The garden now, mostly withered by
frost was a mute reminder there still was
work to be done before the real cold of
winter set in.
The long white sentinels of beehives
stood out in the shimmering glow of
moonlight. How my bees produced for me
this year! Hundreds of pounds of their
golden surplus now lie stored in bottles in
cabinets above the kitchen wood stove.
Warm and fluid, it will keep for later use,
preserved by nature's own secret.
As the old saying goes "You could read
by moonlight" that night. Usually at night
the dog, running free, appears only as an
occasional ghostly image, but on that
night, under the silvery moon, I could
follow his every move.
As we approached the big, old cherry
tree a bird flew by, light in color, small and
without a sound. It was unusual, but I knew
for sure it was an owl, for they have the
ability to fly noiselessly so that they can
approach their prey. Not far up in the
tangle of limbs of the old cherry there is a
box I put up years ago. The entrance is
about three inches across. It was designed
big enough for a hawk or owl to use,
It was used by a pair of kestrels, or
sparrow hawks, years ago, but I thought it
unoccupied now.
Owls Like Old Trees
Could it be that now this screech owl is
using it to roost in? It flew from the very
tree where the box was. I imagined it
sitting there with a mouse dangling limp
from its claws, just about to have its
evening meal when we came along and
disturbed it. I thought of tomorrow an
how I could get a ladder up and look in an
see if the owl was there. But somethin
inside of me said "No ". I'll leave it as it is
From now on when walking by I'll hav
that special feeling of wondering whethe
or not the owl is there.
Screech owls are having a difficult tim
finding nesting sites these days because o
the scarcity of old trees that seem to b
falling to the woodcutter's ax.
Just recently I had the pleasure of
accompanying a group of people to one of
our last undisturbed woodlands in the
Town of Southold. Everywhere you looked
there were dead trees, almost as though
the forest was dying. Yet the story is quite
simple.In a virgin woodland there is a
process of growing and dying going on
all the time and if the wood happens to be
cedar, locust, oak or cherry that does not
rot quickly, these skeleton trees show
themselves everywhere. Around our
homes we tidy the woods up and take the
dead out. Therefore many feel this is the
natural way. When in truth we have
actually manicured the woods by eliminat-
ing the dead and fallen trees.
Part Of Natural Cycle
Again it's part of the natural cycle of
things. After a tree dies it remains
RoU-W
6:110 '
standing for a time while the insects and
fungi attack it. Here the woodpeckers,
nuthatches, chickadees and others live
year round on the insects buried in the
tree. It is their food supply.
Then somewhere along in time the tree
comes crashing down. The birds still feast
on it but now, slowly, ever so slowly, decay
sets in more rapidly where the tree and the
moist soil come in contact with each other,
In time what once came from the soil and
blossomed into a beautiful tree now
returns to the soil enriching it for all.
Most of the owls we think of owe their
allegiance to trees for their nesting shel-
ter. Yet there are some that have adapted
to man's buildings and now almost entirely
use them for nesting sites. I'm speaking of
the barn owl. This monkey -faced owl is one
of the greatest of all mousers and will
out -hunt any cat. In "The Book of Owls" by
Lewis Wayne Walker the author speaks of
watching a nesting barn owl through its
brooding period. From the hatching of the
first chick till the last one left the nest, 758
rodents and one bird were brought in to
feed the young. The biggest catch was 27
rodents in one night. Stack that up against
your best four - footed friend and you'll see
why owls rank so high in keeping down the
population of these pesty little fellows.
Few of us realize that there are owls
continually about us, and fewer still ever
have the pleasure of seeing them. They are
as mysterious as the night itself. Yet if
d your ears are in tune with the outside
d world you may on a quiet evening hear the
g screech owl off in the woods calling. Its
. warbling whistle is a true call of the wild.
e P.S. Ask your library to get you a record
✓ of owl calls. It's a fun thing to do and by
hearing their various voices you'll start to
e realize what a variety of treats the outside
f world has in store for you.
e
PAUL STOUTENBURGH
VOTE
FOR
George J. Berry
FOR
Fire Commissioner
DECEMBER 9, 1980
6 - 10 pm
SOUTHOLD FIRE HOUSE
(Paid Advertisement)
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Page 11A
most common owl, heard but seldom seen.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
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