Seward, Alaska
A GREAT HORNED OWL has been
hooting sporadically in the late evening from the slopes of Mt Marathon, noted
on July 28 and July 31.
On an overcast,
mystery-shrouded evening on August 7 at 10:45 pm, I heard him on Little Bear
Mountain, just south of Mt Marathon. His low query rolled down from the black
spruce trees silhouetted against the gray sky.
“Whoo, hoo-did-did-dee, whoo,
whoo? Whooo?”
I walked up as close to the
base as I could and listened, enthralled. Who, indeed? After long pauses, he
repeated his question, but no one answered.
So I tried, attempting to
replicate the syncopated part in the middle, get the pauses right, and the
appropriate pitch. It wasn’t very good, but after a long silence (consideration,
deliberation, and rating of the effort?) I SAW the owl fly from one hidden
perch across the darkening sky to another spruce on the skyline. What a thrill!
I waited for a long time,
savoring the quiet of the evening at the edge of the heart of town, hoping for
another question. But none came, and so I turned back and walked the rest of
the block home, feeling enriched. Whooooo?
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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