Twice Blessed by Owl Calls

Hearing an owl is always a treat, and, at least for me, a fairly rare one. And yet here, in the span of two weeks, on two separate continents, I have had the wonderful serendipity of being at the right place at the right time to hear them. First in Italy, throwing open the shutters on my last night there to hear that trio of Scops owls,
and now tonight, in TN while taking my dog for his final walk of the evening.

I had just left the house when I was delighted and surprised to hear, over the cricket calls, dogs barking and distant traffic, the low sound of two calling owls. By their calls, I am quite sure they were two Great Horned Owls, one calling and the other echoing in a duet. I expect to hear that sort of things in courting owls up North in January, but tonight was the full moon, and why not hoot on such a night as this.

I tried reading up on aggressive owl behavior; do they tolerate another owl living in such close proximity if it isn’t a mate? Not likely. And one source said that although it’s true that they nest in late January, early February, they could start courting as early as October. Bingo- maybe it was a pair. The male’s call is low and strong, and the female higher pitched. Can I say with certainty that it was higher pitched? Hmmm , I am not sure. Either way, it was lovely, and unexpected.

Other out of context, or out of the usual time frame, sightings have come about simply because I switched to a more southerly latitude.
Osprey left the Cape about a month ago, but here was one today sailing over the Pigeon Fork River, not far from the infamous “Dollywood” of TN. I was out at the foothills of the Smokies for a trail ride with my 3 yr old granddaughter. How marvelous was that! Riding tandem in the saddle, up ridges and down we saw not only the changing foliage of walnut and hickory trees but also a coyote mid- day. And during our Chimney top hike on Sunday there was a patch of woods that was full of warblers. Heading south, with further to go no doubt.

And I too am heading south with further to go, all of us heading to Florida in two days. I’ll watch the season unwind a bit more, leaving fall behind and heading back into summer. The miracle of travel, when you jump seasons like this it becomes its own form of a time machine doesn’t it? And it would seem unlikely that I will have any time to blog about it, until the whole thing is put into reverse and I make my way north again to the Cape. Once there, I only have two days before I jet to Texas to finally look for a house. No doubt that will seem a solar system away from where I am now. Seasonal whiplash seems to be my destiny for a while longer. And it seems I am intent on taking all of you along for the ride! Keep your neck brace handy.