Owl meets window.

I saw this online yesterday, rather lovely.

We have a local Barn owl (that is rarely seen) and a very local Tawny, it sits on the telephone pole about 5m from our bedroom window and hoots most evenings. The appeal can wear off after a while...

Sympathy Bruce,  I had a cuckoo calling about 20m from the house every morning for 2 months.  

I monitor 1st sighting/hearing of a number of birds every year since 1981 for my local bird nerd group.  Almost every year cuckoo's arrive in early April,  invariably 12 to 16th,  so this year on the 14th, nothing new.

The new bit was the same bird - with a distinct off tune call - called from trees near my house more or less every morning beginning at the very 1st chink of light - like 03:00'ish. 

By June it had stopped & gone roaming prior to the move to Africa.  The problem was a family of green woodpeckers that were nesting in the same trees had fledged & have now taken on the early morning call responsibilities.  Compared to cuckoo these birds are just too much, windows need to be closed or risk an early call. But even with closed double glazing they can still be heard if you are half awake.   I was wondering (& wishing)  how I could get a green woodpecker dust imprint on a window.

In fairness 'our' owl does at least hoot. I think it is the juveniles that screech-a pretty dreadful noise. I think tawny's are nick-named 'screech-owls'.

We have a sparrowhawk who occasionally takes the same perch, and it tends to be daylight too. Magnificent bird, but all the small birds in the garden flee at great velocity when he arrives. Might solve your woodpecker problem!

Our favourite local birds are the Curlews, they make the most lovely noise as they fly around the fields close to the house. Their first appearance in Spring is a day that we really mark each year.

Bruce

Hi again Bruce,  

Most of the time you hear 2 calls from Tawny Owls

The hoot, "hu ...hu-hooooo" is the male call & more or less his only call & is his territory claiming & mate seeking call.

The female's call is a variant of a softer "u-wee"  or louder "ke-wick"  

She also has quiet mews and soft vocalisations that can only be heard close by,  but to your point she is the one with the ear piercing call that is the screech.

My cuckoo trees are used by Tawny males in early winter when claiming territory.

They too are perches for a few hawks, sparrow hawks nested there a few years ago, even had a peregrine perched 2 years ago & it stayed almost the whole day.  Most common is red kite.   

Thanks for that Mike

I'm not a birdwatcher but do enjoy the variety we see at home. It included large flocks of Fieldfare this winter-first time I had ever seen them. We also have a Kingfisher around much of the year, always brightens the day.

Peregrines nest a few miles away on Malham Cove although I do not think I have ever seen them, but I'm pretty sure I've seen the occasional Hobby.

Bruce

I just finished the old David Attenborough series on The Life of Birds.  It was really fascinating going all over teh world.  In SoCal we have a lot of invasive birds, but the worst in my experience is the Mocking bird.  It picks a variation of songs in a mocking tone with variations, and then repeats them  ALLLLLLL night long.  There is no sleeping.  I'm glad the last one around here was 8 years ago.  My neighbor even went out after midnight and threw rocks into the tree but that didn't help.

I spent a week at a friend's in Santa Barbara, blessed house and garden.  At night it was the frogs up and down the wooded valley, this 3D sampling of high and low.  Surprisingly I fell asleep after being mesmerized for an hour or more.  Then in the morning it was a full range of birds singing.  it was sort of psychedelic having it in stereo thru the 2 opposite open windows.  Best vacation I ever had.