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	Owls

Owls and Owl Awareness Month

Owls, with their huge, luminous eyes and haunting calls, fascinate humans. New Hampshire's varied habitats provide year-round homes for several species of owls. New Hampshire Audubon celebrates March as "Owl Awareness Month," and invites everyone to join in the thrill of listening for our owl neighbors.

By February, the Great Horned Owl, our earliest breeding owl, may already be incubating eggs. You might hear the resonant bass hoot of this magnificent predator anytime during late winter. In late February, we started to hear the familiar "Who cooks for yoou, who cooks for yoou aaal!" of the Barred Owl, our most common owl. Near dense hemlock and spruce woods, listen for the mechanical-sounding, single-pitched beeps of the tiny Saw-Whet Owl. Attentive owlers in southern New Hampshire might be treated to the mournful, descending trill of the Eastern Screech Owl.

Owlers who take to the woods in hopes of a glimpse of these special birds should remember that the Great Horned Owl is a vigilant defender of its nest. Swooping down silently, the Great Horned Owl, with its formidable talons, can spell real trouble for prey - or an inattentive intruder!

To get you started on your spring owling adventures, New Hampshire Audubon has prepared an audiotape and information sheet about owls. On the tape, you'll hear actual recordings of the sounds made by the four owl species you're most likely to hear in New Hampshire, and a narrated commentary to aid identification. With the tape, you'll also receive an information sheet with facts about owl eyesight, hearing, hunting techniques and life cycle, and descriptions of the six species of owls seen in our state.

To receive the tape and information sheet, send a check for $8.00 to "Owl Tape, Audubon Society of New Hampshire, 3 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH, 03301." To receive just the information sheet, send 25 cents and a long self-addressed stamped envelope to "Owl Sheet, Audubon Society of New Hampshire, 3 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301." Or, you can buy the tape and the information sheet at The Audubon Nature Store in Concord.

If you've heard an owl call and would like to report it, please send us a message with your name and mailing address, the species of owl you heard, the date and time you heard the call, and the specific location - including street and town - where you heard the call.