Finding a bird that is hard to find

Looking for the well-camouflaged Eastern Screech Owl

May 12, 2022

A male Eastern Screech Owl (photo: Alexander Verbeek)

I wouldn't have noticed the bird if it hadn't moved its head. Even experienced birders admit they have trouble spotting the Eastern Screech Owl. This master in camouflage may seek out a tree cavity to rest in during the day and then position itself in such a clever way that it fills the mouth cavity.

As you can see in the photo, its grey and brown feathers blend in perfectly with the tree bark around it. Even when the owl is perched on a branch, it's often impossible to tell the difference between the bird and a broken knot.

I took this picture yesterday in a small forest close to the outskirts of Ottawa. Although you may never have seen an Eastern Screech-Owl, they coexist with humans in many suburban and urban areas throughout the eastern United States. But it is more likely you may have heard them. I met a few birders with impressive cameras who told me that even many birders are only familiar with this owl because of its nocturnal song; you hardly see them during the day.

The birders explained that this must be a male; it is resting now after being active at night to deliver food to the nest while the female looks after the eggs and young. And like the male Northern Saw-whet Owl, it often stores food she received for the nestlings from her male partner for several days. The male's contribution to the family dish for his partner and kids is a tasty mix of small birds and animals, reptiles, insects, crayfish, and earthworms.

Zooming in so much hasn't improved the quality of the photo, but here he is, the Eastern Screech Owl, resting after a busy night. (photo: Alexander Verbeek)

It is sad for the caught animals involved, but a lucky escape is possible in a fantastic example of the wonders of nature that provides mutual benefits. One of the owls' snacks is worm-like reptiles known as blind snakes, which the adult owl brings alive to the nest. Some of these blind snakes are unlucky and eaten by the owl chicks, but some clever survivers quickly crawl beneath the wood chips, pellets, and other fillings on the nest cavity's floor to avoid being eaten.

In their hiding place, the blind snakes that have escaped being served as breakfast will survive by eating bug larvae that would otherwise parasitize the owl chicks. It's a happy end for all (except those poor bug larvae, I'm sorry, but in this otherwise pleasant story, someone must end up as food). Recent research showed that screech-owl chicks grew quicker and healthier in vermin-free nests that the owls share with these "helper" blind snakes.

Next time in a forest, look around for trees and owls that look like them. Or rely on birders with big cameras; they are happy to share their knowledge.

This eight-second video shows the difference in visibility between the moving owl and its perfect camouflage once it sits still.

If you got this far, please read this too: I write these newsletters, share my photos, do interviews, make podcasts about the environment, and share my travels because I believe that together we can do better on this beautiful but fragile planet.

I like what I do, and I hope you like it too since this is my work.

If you are a paying subscriber: thank you for your support!

If you are not, please consider supporting this initiative by taking a paid subscription. Your support helps!

The Back Page

I just read the following story in this morning's New York Times. Nature is fascinating on many levels, from the owl in a local forest to the forces of nature on an unimaginably much larger scale. These are the opening lines of the article:

"Astronomers announced today that they had pierced the veil of darkness and dust at the center of our Milky Way galaxy to capture the first picture of "the gentle giant" dwelling there: A supermassive black hole, a trapdoor in space-time through which the equivalent of 4 million suns have been dispatched to eternity, leaving behind only their gravity and a violently bent space-time."

This is the full article.

And one more, from CNN, it’s just as fascinating:

A tiny fragment of the asteroid that hit Earth 66 million years ago may have been found encased in amber, a discovery NASA has described as "mind-blowing."

This is the full article.

And one of this newsletter's readers, who knows I enjoy reading books, send me this picture (thank you!). It is the Royal Portuguese Reading Room in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was published on Twitter by History Defined, and I have no other reason to share it with you than to just let you enjoy this stunning sight. Note that the supporting poles are perfectly straight. For a moment, I thought the whole structure could collapse any moment, but that is an optical illusion.

Royal Portuguese Reading Room in Rio de Janeiro (photo: History Defined on Twitter)

That's it for today. I hope you will have a day as beautiful as it is right now in Ottawa, where the trees are suddenly bursting into fresh green colors. I love it. This photo is from this morning.