Tuesday, June 24, 2008

OMG a new yardbird!

Tonight, Gretchen was over for dinner, and when she went out to her car, she heard an owl! It was dusk, so the blue of the post-sunset sky served as a backdrop to the silhouetted trees and Egg Hill.

I went outside and heard it: "hoo h-hoo, hoo, hoo!" Great Horned Owl! Coming from the willow and oaks at the back of Neighbor Ed's property!

We listened to it for a little bit, and then I called back to it with my BirdJam, and it called back to me! "hoo h-hoo, hoo, hoo!"

I ran upstairs to get Em so she could hear, but when we got back the hooting had stopped. Repeated calls with the BirdJam were of no avail. Still, Gretchen said she didn't see the owl fly out of the trees, though he may have stayed low and flown farther into the marshland behind Neighbor Ed's.

This is not only a new yardbird for me; it's also the first time I've ever heard an owl--any owl!--in real life!

I'm so pumped!

UPDATE: This brings my yardbird total (counting the marsh birds I see and hear from the backyard) to 71!

23 comments:

KGMom said...

Very cool. I love the whoo hoo ing of owls. I don't hear them much where I live--just occasionally.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Cool beans!! I found an owl call in a clearance bin at Gander Mountain and have had some success in calling GHO's with it.

Anonymous said...

That is so cool!

I've been wanting to email you. I saw a male Eastern Towhee for the first time yesterday and I was so stoked! It was no owl, but I love seeing a bird for the first time.

Sadly, I was too late with my camera.

Susan Gets Native said...

Awww...let's take a moment to celebrate that Delia lost her Owl-Virginity.

Angry Ballerina said...

And ya'll are telling ME to get a webcam??! Do those things have night vision????

LauraHinNJ said...

Cool!

RG said...

Just so it did not call YOUR name ....

John B. said...

Great Horned Owl is a great yardbird!

Patrick B. said...

Awesome! Congrats!

dguzman said...

KGMom--I'm going to have to listen more often!

Lynne--Cool! I do a pretty good imitation myself, but I'd like to have a call like that--why would they have one, though? Do hunters use them? (shudder)

DCup--I love towhees! I'm glad you got such a nice lifer! I've only ever seen one of those.

Susan--*blush* Don't let it get around school or I'll get a bad reputation!

Angry--wouldn't that have been cool? I might have to look into that....

Laura--totally!

Rabbits' Guy--yeah, that would've been bizarre.

John--thanks! 71 yardbirds! Woo hoo!

Patrick--hey! thanks, buddy!

Earl Cootie said...

I am loving the BirdJam stories. You're having such success! I've seen a few owls, but until your post, it never occurred to me that I've only once ever heard one.

dguzman said...

Earl--having those recordings at my fingertips all the time is really amazing. I've learned a lot more birdsongs, and using it to attract birds gives me looks at them I never would've gotten without it. It rocks!

Angry Ballerina said...

Pic???

Joe said...

Cool! I remember the first time hearing an owl, it was at night in Mississippi Palisades State Park in Savanna, IL. What a great sound that is, huh? And how much cooler that it is right in your backyard?

By the way, I'm trying to dig out my Audobon bird guide and start taking notes. The guy I went canoing with last week is a bird watcher and it was fascinating having him point stuff out to me as we paddled.

DivaJood said...

I am completely surprised you haven't been to Dharma Bums blog. They post the most amazing bird photos. I like your blog (even though you adopted Alan Rickman and I can't have him.)

nina at Nature Remains. said...

How cool to hoot with a great horned owl!
That's fantastic.
You must've been thrilled.

dguzman said...

Angry, I wish I could've gotten a pic! But it was dark, and he stopped hooting after only about 30seconds, tops.

Bubs--cool! That should be a good guide. Hopefully it has better photos/art than the original Audubon sketches, which were kinda creepy.

Diva Jood--welcome to my little birdy blog! I have only lurked on Dharma Bums, but I haven't been there in a long time--will have to go. Yes, I luvs me some Alan Rickman.

Nina--totally! I just wish I'd heard him since that one time....

pissed off patricia said...

Nothing better than laying in bed at night and listening to an owl calling.

At my old house we had hanging bird houses and each year a screech owl would nest in one of them. You could look up and see a tiny baby screech owl looking back at you from the opening in the box.

I understand your excitement about the owl. It's fun, isn't it?

Angry Ballerina said...

You are now known as the Bird Whisperer.

dguzman said...

PoP: I wish he would come back--it was only that one time. Dangit.

Angry: pssp-pssssp--ppsss.

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