Owls of Arizona: Silent Hunters of the Night Sky: Part 1

Summary: Did you know that Arizona is home to 13 different species of owls? Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk about these amazing feathered residents.

 

For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes.

 

Show Notes:

www.avibirds.com/owls-of-arizona/

www.a-z-animals.com/blog/true-owls-vs-barn-owls-what-are-the-diffrences/

Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night, by Mark Wilson

 

Liberty Wildlife:

(480)998-5550

2600 E Elmwood St. Phoenix, AZ 85040

https://Libertywildlife.org

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com

Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com

 

Transcript

 

Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert a podcast all about desert bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States. (Various bird calls play)

 

Cheryl-Intro:  Welcome to The Feathered Desert! Arizona is a haven for birdlife.  It is a state with a multitude of diverse landscapes that range from deserts to conifer forests, to incredibly very different types of landscaped mountain ranges.  It has breathtaking canyons, riparian areas with cottonwoods and willows very much untouched by man.  This landscape diversity supports a very diverse selection of birdlife including (are you ready) thirteen different owls. I was floored! I thought maybe six species but no it’s thirteen. That’s why it’s in two parts.

 

Kiersten: Few general facts:

Owls live in a variety of habitats.  For every type of bird habitat there is an owl that fits into it.

Owls are nocturnal raptors, specialized for hunting in the dark, and are equipped with excellent night vision; but there are a few owls that are active during the day. There is always an exception to the rule!

To be more specific:

Diurnal-by definition diurnal means happening or active during the daytime.  Animals that are diurnal are usually awake and active during the daytime. Burrowing Owls, Short-eared Owls, Snowy Owls

Crepuscular-cre-pus-cu-lar: means relating to twilight, referring to animals that are active in the twilight—active at dawn and dusk.  A few of our owls that do that are Northern Pygmy Owl and Ferrugious Pygmy Owl

Nocturnal-done, occurring, or active at night. Northern Saw-whet Owl, Barn Owl, Boreal Owl

One of my favorite things about owl is that they all have specialized feathers for silent flight.  That mean you will not hear them ehThat being said: the tiny Elf owl is the nosiest when in flight.  That is saying quite a lot. You’ll probably just barely hear him as he flies overhead. Which is interesting because it hunts insects, and some insects can hear. It begs the question of why this owl evolved to be a little bit louder than other owls but is so small.

 

Cheryl: I don’t know but I thought it was interesting!

 

Kiersten: Like most birds, owls have 4 toes on each foot.  2 toes point forward and 2 toes point backward.  However, owls have a special ability -they can swing one of their back toes to the front.  Helps it to grip wiggling prey.  Ospreys, woodpeckers, and parrots can do this as well.

Owls have good spatial memory, probably better than us, for sure better than me!

 

(Cheryl and Kiersten both laugh)

 

Kiersten:   Owls carry detailed mental maps of their surroundings.  This helps an owl remember where things are and where they left things. Which is super important!

 

Cheryl: It is because they store food! Who knew?

 

Kiersten: Yeah! There are 19 species of owls that breed and nest in the United States and Canada.  13 of these species may be found in Arizona!

 

Cheryl:  So, Owls are split into two family groups. Every time I do research for a podcast I learn so much that I didn’t know! The first group is Strigidae-which are true owls and the Tytonidae-the Barn Owls.

True Owls VS Barn Owls some of the differences are

Physical Appearance:  Many true owl species have ear tufts on their heads covered in feathers.  They have large heads, round facial discs around their eyes.  They have yellow or orange eyes.

Barn Owls have a great heart-shaped facial disc.  Presence of long strong legs with powerful talons.

Dark eyes and the absence of ear tufts. They have ears but not tufts.

Calls:  True owls make hooting calls.  Barn owls don’t hoot, rather they make eerie-sounding screams.

Habitats:  True owls are found worldwide except in Antarctica.

Barn Owls occur everywhere except in the cold temperate, and Arctic regions.  They prefer open places and live away from humans.

Kiersten: They are found on every continent!

 

Cheryl: Behavior:  True owls exhibit nocturnal behaviors and have specialized morphology for their wings. Barn Owls are nocturnal birds.

Color:  they have brown or gray vertical markings, and their underbellies are usually white. Barn owls are usually an orange-black color.  Their breasts are white.

Hunting Styles:  True Owls are mostly seen by people as tame since they show no movement unless you

 are very close to them.  They are ambush predators. Although they are elusive they are relatively not shy towards people.

 

Kiersten: Yes, but were not saying for you to go up to one because they are not tame! They are just good at their jobs which is to be calm and still and ambush prey or fly away.

 

Cheryl: Right!

Barn Owls are opportunistic hunters.  They fly in open areas gliding across the low grasses locating prey

by sound.

Lifespan: Ture Owls lifespans very depending on the species, on average these owls have longer lifespans than Barn Owls.  Barn Owls live 5-10 years and that is being generous. They can live longer in captivity.

 

Kiersten:  The Great Horned Owl-

Great Horned Owl is Arizona’s largest and most widespread owl.  Known as the “Tiger of the Sky”, the Great Horned Owl is probably the most familiar to our listeners of all the Arizona owls.  We both have them in our yards. This owl has mottled grayish-brown feathers on its wings, head, and body. It has pale cream to white underneath with brown barring, and it has a reddish-brown to gray facial feathers, and a white throat patch. This will all be hard to see in the dark but if you catch them in a flashlight or see them in a tree during the day you might get to see the colors better. Great Horned Owls have long feathers covering their legs and feet. Great horned owls are 17-25 inches in height.   Average weight of an adult is 2.6 – 3.5 lbs.  The females will be larger and heavier. The wingspan of this raptor is on average 3-5 feet across. That’s a nice wingspan!

 

Cheryl: That’s also pretty heavy for an owl!

 

Kiersten: Yep! Great Horned Owls are highly adaptable birds with an incredibly diverse diet comprising of over 200 species of mammals, and 300 species of birds, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians and fish.   Why pick just one thing when you have all this stuff to eat? Why not just eat it all

 

Cheryl: (laughs) I don’t think we missed anything on that list!

 

Kiersten: The favorite meal of these birds are skunks.  I mean…yeah?

 

(Both co-hosts laugh)

 

Cheryl: Well skunks are cute.

 

Kiersten: They are cute! And the owls keep their population in check. The Great Horned Owl is the only owl to regularly eat skunk. I think they may not have to best sense of smell, if they don’t mind eating skunk!

 

Cheryl: (laughs)

 

Kiersten: Great Horned Owls do migrate.  They live in their territory their whole lives.  Historically, they were once intensively hunted.  Their feathers a really beautiful and there is always the myth that they eat your sheep, which is completely false. They are not s bog enough bird to do that. But now the biggest threat is indirect poisoning by harmful rodenticides. Which is a terrible shame! For more information on that, please, reference our Rodenticide: A Deadly Decision podcast.

Fun Fact:  Great Horned Owls will defend their nests fiercely by hooting, hissing, grunting, and screaming. It is quite terrifying to see! You don’t want to encounter this!

 

Cheryl: They really do impress me. Every time I encounter one or watch them on a webcam.

 

Kiersten: They really are impressive. These are the ones that have that wise look on theor faces. The one that the phrase wise old owl comes from but…they are not wise. They’re great at being owls bt not great problem solvers!

 

Cheryl: (laughs)

 

Kiersten: One other thing about the Great Horned Owl. They are definitely one of the owl that have ear tufts. We are not exactly sure why they have ear tufts. Some scientists say it’s for checking the changing wind, or they are used to make decisions on the wing but we not entirely sure what they are for. But the tufts are just feathers not ears. They have ears but the feathers that stick up are not their ears.

 

Cheryl: Sometime I think it’s for communication between owls because they can flatten them or hold them up straight. They do things with them if you ever have the opportunity to watch them.

 

Kiersten: That’s a good thought! Owls are solitary hunters, so they could potentially hurt another owl. I don’t necessary want to cozy up to my neighbor that might kill me! So maybe they are used to communicate from a distance.

 

Cheryl :  And with eye color. All 19 different owl species have a different eye color and scientist don’t know why! Mabe it’s for communication as well.

 

Kiersten: Maybe!

 

Cheryl: Barn Owl

The Barn Owl is an unusual beauty.  It is a medium sized owl with a heart-shaped face and a characteristic pale speckled plumage.  The upperparts are rusty brown with dark patches.  The face and underparts range from cream to white.  It has slender, feathered legs and long broad wings that enable sharp, agile movements.  This owl is 13-15 inches in height.  It weighs about 1 -1.5 lbs. 

 

Kiersten: The female is definitely a bit bigger. The females need more weight to incubate eggs and more skeletal width to lay eggs, but of all the raptors they have the least difference between male and female.

 

Cheryl:  Barn Owls wingspan is 31-37 inches across. 

Barn Owls occur in the open grasslands, farmlands, open meadows in woodlands and woodland edges. They are nocturnal.  Barn Owls roost or nest in old buildings, barns, silos, steeples, sheds, mine and well shafts, tree cavities, caves and stacks of baled hay.   It is an unmissable bird.  Look out for a flash of white in the open country at night.  Barn Owls has an undulating flight pattern.  They hunt by gliding low above the ground using sight and sound to locate prey.  Barn Owls have asymmetric ears which means one ear is a little higher than the eyes while the opposite one sits a little lower than the eyes.  This helps Barn owls to quickly and accurately locate faint sounds.  The sounds strike each ear at slightly different times.

One Barn Owl will eat 8 mice/voles a night.   That’s 2,920 rodents a year.  

 

Kiersten: That’s good rodent control, right there!

 

Cheryl: Barn owls have been known to stockpile prey animals, especially, during nesting season.  Barn Owls are typically solitary birds but will live in pairs.  Barn owls are non-violent, altruistic and family-oriented birds.  Barn Owl siblings care for one another while they are together.

Barn owls often are the victims of vehicle collisions, but their greatest threat is indirect poisoning by harmful rodenticides.

Kiersten:  This is the Flammulated Owl

 

Cheryl: I’m gla you said that word!

 

Kiersten: It’s not a pretty word. (laughs)

 

Cheryl: I don’t know who names these birds!

 

Kiersten: they could have picked a prettier word, for sure!

This little owl has flame-like markings on its wings, for which it is named.  However, grayer variants lack this feature.  Its plumage is a mix of dark brown, gray, buff, and white providing the perfect camouflage.  It has large, dark eyes, and small ear tufts that are often held flat against the head.  It is 6-7 inches in height.  Weighs about 1.5-2 ounces and has a wingspan of 14-16 inches across. 

Flammulated Owls are migratory.  Wintering here in Arizona from September-March.  Flammulated Owls can be found in Arizona’s old Ponderosa Pine forests, Douglas Fir, and mixed conifer forests, and in amongst the Aspen trees at higher elevations.   Flammulated owls are considered the most abundant of the forest dwelling owls in Arizona.   These owls are heavily dependent on mature forests.  Habitat loss and rodenticides are the greatest threats to these owls.it vocalizes with twittery noises, mews, and in hoots.  Smaller than the Western Screech Owl this little owl often roosts in old woodpecker or sapsucker holes.  Flammulated owl eats insect like grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, spiders, ants I can’t believe they eat ants, that seems like a lot of work for such a small reward, dragonflies, and moths. Probably one of their favorite is those big, fat moths in the silk moth family. That would tide you or for days.

 

Cheryl: I was surprised at what insects they eat because they are nocturnal. The dragonflies.

 

Kiersten: Dragonflies might be easier to catch at night though because they’ll be stationary.

 

Cheryl: I don’t know how they do it!

 

Kiersten: Me neither but they always seem to know what they are doing!

 

Cheryl:  Whiskered Screech Owl

I think this one is so cute. I remember watching a video of one and thinking how cute he was and then it snatched a hummingbird! Then I thought he’s not so cute anyone!

 

Kiersten: (laughs) Predators always do that to us!

 

Cheryl: (laughs) The Whiskered Screech Owl is named for the wispy bristles at the base of their beak.  It is a small owl with streaked plumage and a rounded head with short ear tufts.  There is a gray morph and rufous colored morph.  It has golden- yellow eyes and a yellow-green bill.   I also found it interesting that owl beaks can be different colors! Its height is 6-8 inches, and it weighs 2.4-4.2 ounces.  This owl’s wingspan is 16-20 inches across.

These owls inhabit southeastern Arizona in the dense oak woodlands and mountains forests of the Madrean Sky Island Mountain Range.  The very southeastern tip of Arizona.  They are active from dusk through the night.  They mainly prey on arthropods, including locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, moths, caterpillars, centipedes, spiders and scorpions. I always like a bird that can catch a scorpion! They occasionally hunt small mammals and small birds.  Your best chance to look for Whiskered Screech owl is in the Sycamore groves alongside canyons in the popular birding area of Madera Canyon.  Listen for the evenly spaced boo-hoots of the small owls.

 

That’s just four of the thirteen owls we have in Arizona. Part two is coming soon! Please I would just like to remind everyone that the Phoenix Valley is home to a great raptor rehab facility.  Liberty Wildlife offers rehabilitation to injured raptors such as the owls here in Arizona.  So, if you would like a close -up with an owl you may visit their education center for a tour.  If you find an injured owl please keep visual contact with the injured bird, and call Liberty Wildlife.  A volunteer will come out and rescue the bird.  We will include Liberty Wildlife’s contact information in our show notes.

Stay tuned for part two coming in the near future!