[Douglbirds] The week's new guest

[Hugh Kingery]

For the past week we've welcomed a new guest (unless actually we ourselves are its guests): a Northern Saw-whet Owl. 

Mostly he calls at 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. Tonight, though, he started at 7:15 p.m. (or earlier) and kept going for 20 minutes. I counted the number of whistle-calls: in two successive minutes, he called 109 times in one minute. He does have to pause for breath; otherwise he utters a steady stream of whistled hoots.

His main calling-site lies about an eight-mile away, across the gully in a douglas-fir/ponderosa hillside, although he did show up in our yard during one of the 11 p.m. serenades. 

We wonder if any of the rest of you have saw-whet guests? Keep your ears open (and window ajar).

Hugh Kingery
Franktown, Colorado
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