Screech owls are popular visitors to suburban woodland gardens and are beginning to increase their numbers in Canada, in part, because more homeowners are installing nesting boxes on their properties. Screech owls are among the smallest in North America but they eat more than their share of mice and rats making them a favourite for woodland gardeners.
A screech owl peers out of its home in our garden in the evening just as the sun sets. Sundown and sunset are the most likely times to see them, but even then their natural camouflage makes them almost impossible to spot.
Link to screech owl vocalizing. Many people even mistake the robin-sized nocturnal woodland owl with short ear-tufts and yellow eyes, for fledgling Great Horned owls when they notice them in their neighbourhood.
Not that they are easy to notice in the first place. Not only do they blend into the forest, their nocturnal habits make them a rare sighting if you are not making a conscious effort to find them. These small owls, however, can be more common in your neighbourhood than most may realize.
Screech owls are wonderful little birds to have in your yard. By putting up a specialized house for them, you may be able to attract them into your yard. In these images you can see both the red and grey versions of the owls. The Eastern Screech Owl, a common species found east of the Rockies, can be spotted in a variety of habitats including woods, suburbs, and parks.
