Shulian-2.25.09-Screech Owl Research (Bird watching with Bob)
Today Ava and I went to Central Park. We arrived at the location at West 110th Street to meet up with Robert-the birdwatcher- at exactly 5:00pm. It was my first encounter with Bob and Ava’s second. He is very nice, in his 40’s and wore jeans and hiking boots and a backpack full of his equipment. His wife Deborah whom we have talked to on the phone a couple of times was also on the bird walk (technically the Screech Owl walk). It was a really great opportunity for Ava and me because this was a private tour, and we could ask as many questions as we wanted. The questions we asked were basically the same ones we asked Sunny the park ranger. Like, “Do you feed the Screech Owls? or “How do you keep track of them?” Bob the Birdwatcher showed us trees that have previously been inhabited by Screech Owls. He told us that the owls — because of their small size — usually nested within 20 feet of the ground maximum. Ava and I took measurements of these trees. We had to find out the height – from the ground to the nesting spot, the diameter and the circumference. The more we know about the owls the more of a chance we can understand their lives and be able to find them. Finally after talking about the Owls, Bob led us to a spot in the middle of the woods with trees everywhere near a little creek. We stood there, and listened, and we heard nothing. After a while of patiently waiting, Bob decided to show us his bird calling equipment. It was a recording of a Screech Owl, and surprisingly it didn’t sound like a screech at all. To me it sounded more like the braying of a horse. Bob explained that the owls would come out sooner or later to defend their “homes” from the “newcomer” – the recording. It was getting very chilly and my feet were frozen. Darkness loomed overhead, and Ava and me were getting restless. I could tell that Bob was getting worried that in the end we weren’t going to be able to see these magnificent owls. After rewinding the recording many times, we finally heard something in the distance. It was quiet, but close behind us. Bob turned the recording off and the Screech Owl kept cooing. Just then we turned around and saw two Screech Owls coming towards us. They were small, and by then it was dark so we only saw their silhouettes. They were beautiful against the night sky. One situated herself (we knew it was a girl) on a branch and just waited there for 10 minutes, cooing and waiting for the response she was never going to get– see the picture below. Two women later showed up at the spot and immediately got enraged at Bob because of the bird calling equipment. They said that he was stressing the owls out by using a bird caller. However, he turned it around and said that they were disrupting nature by standing there everyday watching them. After this argument Bob told us that Screech Owls in Central Park is a very controversial topic and that every person we would talk to will have a different opinion. Overall this visit was amazing, and in a way was the climax of this whole experience-even though I still have 2 more visits to go to. In the end I was freezing and it was 6:40ish when we finally left the park, but for the minutes we saw the owls, I forgot all about my frozen feet and enjoyed those moments, that I am sure I will never forget anytime soon.
(Note about picture: I know it is hard to see but the Screech Owl is the dark blob that is exactly in the middle of the picture.)
