Owls are feeling amorous these days and they're happy to tell any other owl who'll listen. Here are a few hoots you can listen for.
Welcome to this week's edition of Something Wild. I'm Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
Spring is definitely in the air ? especially the night air. If you are out and about after dark, you may have already heard the one of the earliest signs that certain animal?s fancies are turning to thoughts of love. Or mating season anyway.
Our three species of resident owls are already well under way propagating their kind. So, listen for their hoots over the next few weeks as mated pairs call to each other and males defend their territories. Owls are easy to identify by their calls as each one is quite distinctive.
The largest, the great horned owl, has the deepest hoot. Some people thing it sounds like ?Who?s awake, me too.?
Then there?s the barred owl, common in areas near wetlands. This dark-eyed species sounds like it?s saying, ?Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all.? . Barred owls calling back and forth can get really worked ? sometimes they can sound like monkeys in a tropical jungle.
Last but not least, is the tiny saw-whet owl, whose rhythmic call is often described as sounding like the beeping of a truck backing up:
Oh, one more hint: If you hear an owl during the day, it?s probably a mourning dove, who?s soft cooing often confuses people: . Owls pretty much only call at night.
If you don?t hear owls this spring, don?t worry. Young owls will start hooting as they mature in late summer. Why? Well, they?re probably anticipating adulthood, just like an over-eager teenager.
Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, New Hampshire Public Radio, and New Hampshire Audubon.
For Something Wild, I?m Rosemary Conroy.
