It was one of those perfect nights for sleeping. The air conditioner was off, and the windows were open, allowing a cool breeze to blow into the bedroom.
But late-summer nights are the noisiest nights of the year. The cicadas make their sounds until the last light of dusk and when they stop, it seems to be the signal for the crickets and katydids to begin their chorus.
I listened to the singing insects for a few minutes and soon went to sleep.
I awoke with a start to the sound of a harsh and loud “SQUAWK!” The sound
woke up my wife, too.
“What is that?” she asked.
Before I could answer it “SQUAWKED” again. It was in the oak tree about 20 feet from our bedroom window. I focused on the noise. It was definitely not a human sound. The creature let out its loud call about every 10 to 15 seconds.
When the sleep cleared from my head, I realized that it was the scream of a juvenile
great horned owl. It is a sound that — once heard and identified — is never forgotten. The
young owl’s call is something like the calls of a peacock or guinea fowl.
SQUAWK!
Another one called from the neighbor’s tree across the road. There were two young owls calling to their parents. In owl language they were saying, “FEED ME! FEED ME!”
The juvenile owls have probably been flying for a few weeks, but they have not mastered
hunting and still depend on their parents for food. At this stage of their life, they weigh a little more than three pounds, slightly heavier than their parents.
The young owls just sit and eat while their parents expend a lot of energy, hunting for their young and feeding themselves.
Their diet consists mainly of mice, voles and small rodents.
The owls appeared at my acreage in late July, after five acres of prairie grass were cut
and baled. The mowed grass provides excellent hunting territory for the adult owls. I have
seen them several times flying across the field in the early evening. They seem to prefer sitting in the tall silver maple tree in the south fence line or in a big locust tree on the other side of the field, giving them a commanding view of the grass below.
I have frequently heard the two adult birds giving their “Hoo, Hoodoo, Hoo” call from other trees in the area as they communicate with each other.
I enjoy hearing the call of owls but on that pleasant summer night, the juvenile owl was
disturbing my sleep. It was too loud and too close. I went outside and clapped my hands,
encouraging it to wait for its meal in a tree further away.
I hope the young ones learn how to hunt soon. I have heard them for several nights, but not as close to my bedroom window.
Crickets, cicadas, katydids and calling owls are some of the delightful and interesting sounds of a late summer night.
