owl duet

Last night as we finished our barbecue and were searching the darkening sky for bats (didn't see any), two owls suddenly started a hooting duet from the trees in front of the house (between the house and the pond). These were rhythmic hoots in the form of a canon or a round and one of the birds had a clearly higher pitch range than the other, strongly suggesting a male-female duet. This remarkable concert of owl music went on for a bit as we sat transfixed.

Although these hoots were not as deep as those of a typical Great Horned Owl and we never actually saw the birds, Great Horned was the most likely species -- possibly two younger birds whose hoots had not yet matured! No other owl has quite this pattern of hooting. Great Horned Owl is a typical species of the Pine Barrens but, on occasion, the birds do come down here near the water. Also, although this is early in the season, it is not impossible for mating activity to start in late summer (the birds have been known to nest as early as late fall or early winter with young appearing in February or March).

I was hoping that the Blue Jays or Crows would find the bird roosting this morning but no such luck.

Eric Salzman