Neighborhood Owling

In my younger years, I enjoyed all the wildlife that came to my back yard. Pheasants nested in the hole at the bottom of the old cherry tree, raising several chicks each year. Wild Turkeys, groundhogs, deer and tons of birds were a constant source of childhood entertainment. “Goin’ to the creek, mom!” was my typical exclamation followed by mom’s usual reply, “be home for dinner!”

King of Prussia is now a full-blown suburb of Philadelphia, 20 miles away. Though the town has grown exponentially since I was a boy playing in the farm field and creek behind my house, it is still a haven for wildlife. Surrounded by houses now, it is not unusual to find a half dozen deer in my yard. Groundhogs, ‘possums and rabbits are frequent visitors, and I still need to protect my trash cans from marauding raccoons. Best of all, the birds are still here. Not just the feeder birds, but the raptors as well. It is not unusual to see a Red-tailed Hawk fly overhead or a Cooper’s Hawk zip by at eye-level. I often text my friends late at night with the message: I have a screech owl calling in my yard! Sometimes I grab a flashlight to go searching for the source… usually I just sit by the window and enjoy its song.

Today, however, on this perfect ‘sun with no wind’ kind of day, Adrian and I were driving back from running a local errand before settling back to business. Adrian suddenly pulled over and said “get out!” He continued to quickly walk back the road a piece and nodded toward a broken treetop. In the crack, eyes closed and soaking in the warmth of the sun, was a red-morph Eastern Screech Owl. We enjoyed the view for a few minutes, then quickly drove the last couple blocks home to get my camera equipment so that we could share the find with our readers.