Night No-Owl

The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1840 - 1844 

Last year about this time, I joined a night walk searching for owls on the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge. Of all the time I have spent outdoors, I have rarely been out and about after dark. Usually I'm too wimpy cold, or I'm tuckered from all the day's activities.

The timing of the TRNWR walk was to coincide with the January and February nesting times for great horned owls.  Sure enough, about a mile into our walk, with darkness around us and city lights glowing on the clouds above, we heard a pair softly hooting to each other.

This year, we decided to visit the Patch at dusk and remain until after dark.  Several trees along the creek or in the oak grove seemed like possible habitat for great horned owls. We arrived while it was light enough to pick up a few items of trash and splash on paths that were really wet.  As darkness crept in, we listened around the perimeter of the grass field, then with headlamps and flashlights went into the trees.  

I have noticed before that there is a lot of background noise at the Patch, but it seemed to reach new volumes as we strained to hear a quiet hoo-hoo-hoo hoooo-hoo.  Sadly, there was so much noise from the freeway (about 1/2 mile away) that, unless we were very near, I'm not sure we would have been able to hear any owls.

We may try again, but unless we have some event to decrease the freeway traffic (snowstorm?), this may be an exercise in futility.