The other night, around 10:00 pm, I went outside with the dogs to soak in the radiant light of the fat, full Moon. Almost immediately, I heard an owl's call--that of the Great Horned Owl . . . "hoo-h'HOO--hoo-hoo." (Hear an audio at Cornell Lab's web site, All About Birds.) Owl photo is courtesy of Randolph Femmer from NBII (National Biological Information Infrastructure)
I imitated the call to see if I could coax a response from this, the most impressive of owls. To my utter surprise, I received BOTH a response and a visit by said owl. I looked above to see the silhouette of large bird gliding overhead into the tall hemlock grove beside my house. I didn't initially recognize the impressive wingspan as that of the Great Horned Owl's but knew quickly enough when this serious predator with yellow irises called out again: hoo-h'HOO--hoo-hoo
Incredibly excited, I ran inside to grab my trusty hand-held video, hoping to catch the owl's voice. However, all I caught was Sammy (my sheepdog) barking. Despite the racket Sammy was making, the owl continued to call to me, I thought, somewhat foolishly. Because after shooing Sammy back into the house, I could plainly hear a more distant owl calling in response.
So for some moments I stood quietly listening to these two owls exchanging greetings under a full Moon. A night to remember.
Until next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!
Georgia Anne
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