Subject: Re: Screeching Great Horned Owls
Date: Oct 1 11:34:54 1996
From: Christopher Hill - cehill at u.washington.edu


On Tue, 1 Oct 1996, Tom Besser wrote:

> Hi all-
>
> I have a question for the experts on Tweeters about the Great Horned Owls
> in my neighborhood. For the past several weeks I have been hearing
> 'screeching' vocalizations. They sound like VERY LOUD fingernails on a
> chalkboard (I wonder whether younger generations will know this analogy?).
>
> They are definitely GHOWs, since they can be clearly seen silhouetted
> against the sky at dusk. There are typical GHOW hoots in the area at the
> same time, but from different owls in different trees. Last night there
> were two screeching owls, and two hooting ones, and one of the hooters was
> lower in pitch than the other. I remember hearing these vocalization
> other years also.
>
> I've imagined that these screechers may be juveniles being 'weaned' from
> parental feeding, but can someone on Tweeters confirm this or supply the
> correct explanation? Thanks.
>
> Tom Besser
> tbesser at vetmed.wsu.edu
>

Hi Tom,

those are indeed young Great Horned Owls that you hear screeching. They
are "location" calls that allow the parents to find their hungry young
after the young leave the nest. While the time is approaching for young
Great Horneds to be "weaned," I would think the calls probably indicate
that the young are still being fed by the adults. After the young are
independent, I doubt if they would give the calls so persistently.
However, I have heard a Great Horned Owl giving the location call in late
November in Massachusetts, which seems very late even for Great Horneds to
be feeding fledged young, so maybe some of them continue to call when
hungry even when the calling no longer brings a parent with food. I
believe most young Great Horneds achieve independence between August and
October.

As for the hoots, male Great Horned Owls, despite their smaller size, have
the deeper voices. If you hear a pair duetting, the difference is readily
apparent. There is typically a difference in the pattern of the hoots as
well between the sexes. I think it is the female whose call consists of
7-8 notes, while the male's call is shorter, with more like 5 notes, but
my memory is vague on that point. Perhaps since you are hearing your owls
regularly, you could tell us!

Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu