under city street lights.

This is probably territorial hooting between males, since females are silent except for the few weeks of courtship. To a much lesser extent, they eat reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects.

The Screech Owl (Otus asio) is small, only 10 inches high with a 20-inch wingspan.

Great horned owls use a sit-and-wait approach, watching from a perch and swooping on passing prey to seize it with their talons. These birds are mostly solitary and breeding pairs only seem to last for one season, these birds also appear to be monogamous. Pellets, shiny and black when new, turn gray with age. It is buff-brown above and white below. (Nyctea scandiaca) is an infrequent winter visitor from Quebec and Labrador except for "flight years" when they appear in higher numbers.

", A good way to learn more about owls is to sign up for an "owl walk" with a local land trust or nature club, or the Maine Audubon Society. If you use these devices you must be willing to tolerate occasional losses.

Your regional wildlife office keeps a list of rehabilitators and can tell you which ones serve your area. As they mature, young birds will leave the nest cavity and climb nearby branches or trees. Screech Owls None of the species of owl in North America is a nest builder.

Depending on the species, owl calls are characterized as being either a hoot, a screech, or a whistle.

Screech Owls are typical "night owls," hunting at night and During this period in winter, adult birds may engage in belligerent behavior, such as attacking creatures many times their size.

They may Great horned owl nests are usually located high in tall trees, generally in the crotch of a branch next to the trunk. Whilst most males are completely monogamous, in seasons of high prey abundance, some males have been known to mate with another individual. (Fig.

roosting in the trees at night, you may want to place the owl The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) and the barred owl (Strix varia) are the most widely distributed owls in the state.

They include the woods and suburban areas. Illustrations: As credited These owls are permanent residents in the state of Maine so they can be seen year-round and seen throughout all regions of the state.

In Maine, the species has been documented breeding only along the southwestern coast.

Small birds, young squirrels, voles & shrews. A few human Salmonella infections have resulted from handling owl pellets in school settings. This is because they have a red color at one point in their life and then gray at another. Most of the sightings of this owl have been in the southern half of the state whilst there are less in the northern half of Maine.

It prefers swamps adjacent to wet, open meadows for foraging. Retain large dead or dying trees that are twenty or more feet tall that owls can use as perch sites. Scare devices reduce losses rather than eliminating them.

hooked beaks and powerful feet.

TTY: Maine Relay 711 The male gives them in all seasons, but more commonly in fall and winter as he advertises and defends his territory. However, other species such as Great Gray Owls, Long-eared Owls, Short-eared Owls, Snowy Owls, and Northern Hawk Owls are regularly found here during different seasons of the year. It eats small mammals, including shrews and mice, and will also catch small birds and bats. The owl's feathers are silent in flight.

It is often that these mothers will lose their own lives in efforts to protect the young from predators. Barred owl: A clear-voiced series: hoo-hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo-hoohoo-hoo-a-aw. Where suitable nest trees do not exist, owls will use rock ledges, power-line towers, hay lofts and nest platforms. (Fig. They will spend a lot of the daytime doing courting displays for females so will use the night to do some extra hunting. At about six weeks of age the young are ready to leave the nest and to care for themselves.

Some species such as the Great Horned Owl and Barred Owl are widespread, while others including the Eastern Screech Owl has only a limited range within the state. These owls seem to not mind at all being very close in proximity to humans.

The Barred Owl is about 20" long with a 44" wing span. The Great horned owl's large-headed, neckless silhouette and large ear tufts that resemble "horns" set it apart from all other owls in Maine.

Such a structure can be constructed with a wooden framework that is entirely covered with one-inch poultry wire or similar netting.

For any observations of recently fledged young not yet capable of flight, use code FL.

It has dark brown plumage, brown and white vertical breast streaks, and no ear-tufts.

That being said, it is unknown as to whether these breeding pairs are long term or if they form different breeding pairs each year. This is because they have a red color at one point in their life and then gray at another. These birds will only nest in particularly dense woodland areas and will stay in more mature forests where they can. At night, if you remain quiet, you can sometimes locate a calling owl with your flashlight; do not, however, disturb an owl during its late winter to spring nesting season, a critical time in its yearly cycle.

When possible, stay away from nesting areas with aggressive birds until the young are flying (three to four weeks after eggs hatch) and the parents are no longer so protective.

The Saw-whet Owl generally lives in low, moist, coniferous or mixed

Owls are federally protected. When it comes to the winter and breeding seasons, the density of the forest is much more crucial. (Bubo virginianus) occurs throughout Maine and is easily identified by its large ear-tufts or "horns." Periodic crashes in lemming population cause the birds to move south in search of prey.