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  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • A-PAL Humane Society Leadership Team
      • APAL Leadership Opportunities
    • APAL Programs >
      • The Rusty Fund >
        • Rusty's Pet Tails
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs >
        • Special Needs Stories
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Trap-Neuter-Return
      • APAL Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer for APAL
      • Foster for A-Pal >
        • Foster Forms >
          • Foster Program Protocol
          • Kitten Health Checklist
          • Kitten Growth Chart
          • Guide to Feline URI
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • Donate your Car
      • A-PAL Wish List
      • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • Partners >
      • Shelter Partners >
        • Dec14News-PitBulls
        • Jan15News-Excel
        • Feb15News-BenefitsOfPets
        • Feb15News-HarmfulAlgaeBlooms
        • Mar15News-Hoarding
        • Apr15News-TNR
        • Sep15News-QAMargeB
        • Oct15News-ButteFire
        • Oct15News-Bats
        • Dec15News-Tips4Treats
        • Jan16-Volunteer
        • Apr16-TNR
        • July16News-Center
        • Sep16News-ACART
        • Nov17News-ServiceDogs
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      • TCWC Leadership Opportunities
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      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • WildlifeSavesUs
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • To Tree Or Not To Tree
          • Save the Bees
          • Holiday Decorations
          • Kill That Lawn
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
          • Think Biodegradeable
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • Keep Them Wild and Free
        • TCWC Videos
        • Points to Ponder
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress >
        • TCWC 2016 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2017 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2018 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2019 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2020 Impact Report
      • TCWC Patients >
        • Success Stories >
          • 1 - Opossum Call
          • 2 - Raccoon Behind the Grill!
          • 3 - Saving a Raven
          • LongTripHome
          • Anita's Bird Comes Home
          • College the Wild Way
          • Releases
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      • Don't Fawn!
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      • Trash Kitty!
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      • DuckTherapy
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May 2018 - the Western Screech Owl

PictureImage courtesy of Michi Watanabe
The Western Screech-Owl is very common, rather little and very inconspicuous. They are only 7 to 10 inches in total length with a squat body. They have yellow eyes, gray or brown feathers that are streaky on the lower body and have a short tail. Like the Great Horned Owl, they have ear tufts (they are not really ears) that fool some into thinking they are baby Great Horned Owls.

These are common in the Western United States and Canada. You will find them in a variety of habitats from deserts, forests, orchards and suburbs. Screech owls will move to higher elevations in our warm summers and fly down to the warmer valleys in winter.
Their nests are in hollow trees or snags from 6.5 to 20 feet up, and sometimes as high as 50 feet off the ground. They do not build a nest nor enhance the cavity they find in a tree.  The owl will lay her 3 or 4 eggs on whatever material is in the cavity and incubate them for about 26 days. The male brings food to the female while she incubates the eggs and both parents will feed the young after hatching and after they leave the nest.

Western Screech-Owls are nocturnal and hunt at night. Unlike most owls that hunt from the air, these owls hunt from a perch. They locate prey by sight and by sound. When prey is spotted, they swoop down without a sound, grab their dinner and return to a branch to tear the prey apart before eating. Screech owls are carnivores and invertivores. They eat mice and shrews, birds, and small animals as well as a variety of insects like beetles, moths, scorpions, and centipedes. These little owls have been known to prey on cottontail rabbits larger than their own body. Their diet depends on the season and what prey is available.

Though common in our area, they are rarely seen partly because they are nocturnal. But also, when threatened, a Western Screech-Owl stretches its body and tightens its feathers. This makes the owl look like a branch or bark of a tree that defies detection by most predators and why you will rarely see one.

If you would like to see one of these owls, “Marbles” is a Western Screech-Owl and is a Tri County Wildlife Care Education Ambassador. Marbles has cataracts in both eyes probably caused by blunt trauma from a vehicle collision. Marbles is able to fly and land well, but since she cannot see to hunt, she cannot be released.
Our education sessions are free. If you are interested, please call 209-283-3245 to schedule a session.

The oldest known wild Western Screech-Owl was 13 years old. He had been banded in Claremont, California in 1926 and recovered again in 1939.

Tri County Wildlife Care, a local nonprofit started in 1994, is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of our native wildlife and helping our community live in balance with wildlife. They envision a world where wildlife and people thrive together. For more information call (209) 283-3245, or visit pawspartners.org.

Picture
Image courtesy of Theodora Flory
Learn More!
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