Nature's Notebook

From two miles high in the Rockies, your faithful correspondent is filing his weekly column. A day ago I was flying across the midsection of our country, directly overhead of the Big Bend of the Platte River, where even now half a million sandhill cranes are pausing on their northward migration. Now I am in the land of black-billed magpies, common ravens, and pine siskins. Spring is arriving here, as it is back home, releasing us from the late-winter deep freeze. (Take that, groundhog!!)

Let the mating season begin! For many of our birds, including hawks, owls and waterfowl, as well as some other wildlife, breeding season is well underway. One example is the

eastern screech owl.This small nocturnal hunter is one of the most common and widespread owls in our region. It breeds in woodlands of all kinds, appropriating the natural tree cavities, including those excavated by woodpeckers, to lay three or four eggs.

Of all our owls, it is the most habituated to human presence, and often nests in proximity to houses and in artificial nest boxes. Egg-laying takes place between mid-March and May.

The screech owl has an eclectic diet that includes small vertebrates and invertebrates of all kinds.

There are two color forms (morphs) of the eastern screech owl: reddish and gray.

The most commonly heard call of this species is a haunting, monotone wail, often preceded by a descending "whinny." It also has a variety of weird cackles and, yes, screeches.

For those with anthropomorphic leanings, the good news is that most screech owls mate for life. The bad news is that a small percentage get "divorces" when their nest fails, and another small percentage are polygynous — males mate with two or occasionally more females.

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A caller from Salisbury, who asked that his name not be used in the paper, warned that it’s time to start taking birdfeeders in at night. His yard was visited by a bear on Monday morning who "smashed all the birdfeeders, and bent a steel post like it was aluminum. They’re waking up, and they’re hungry. Their clock is saying it’s springtime."

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Henry Wirth of Belgo Road, Salisbury, has seen bears four times at his house on Reservoir Road this week. A mother and four cubs, no less! They've come to the house and put their paws on the glass door.

Fred Baumgarten is a naturalist and writer. He can be reached at fredb58@sbcglobal.net. His blog is at thatbirdblog.blogspot.com.