Cavity Nesting Wild Birds Eastern Bluebird Mountain Bluebird Western Bluebird Purple Martin Wood Duck Screech Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Barn Owl Barred Owl Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Violet-green Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren House Wren Northern Flicker Red-bellied Woodpecker American Robin American Kestrel Great Crested Flycatcher Ash-throated Flycatcher Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Bufflehead Duck Goldeneye Duck Hooded Merganser Tufted Titmouse Eastern Phoebe Gray Catbird Prothonotary Warbler House Finch

Northern Saw-whet Owl The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a small, exclusively nocturnal owl that breeds in forests across much of United States and Canada. Though relatively common within its range, the species is very difficult to see because of its size, habits, and cryptic coloration. It is, however, generally quite unafraid of humans. With much luck and patience, therefore, birders may spy a Northern Saw-whet Owl at very close range, staring back with huge eyes from a branch or a dense tangle of vegetation. The saw-whet owl’s name refers to one or more of its various vocalizations, which are said to resemble the sound of a saw blade being sharpened. There is some disagreement about what particular vocalization is actually the eponymous sound. A number of sources attribute the name to the owl’s loud, harsh squeaks, usually uttered three at a time, by either males or females — “skreer, skreer, skreer.” Male Northern Saw-whet Owls also commonly issue a monotonous, rhythmic series of low whistled toots, about two per second. This tooting can be audible to humans 300 yards away through forest and more than half a mile away over open water. The species breeds in most types of forest and woodland from southern Alaska down the Pacific coast to southern California, through the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia and Saskatchewan to northern Arizona and New Mexico, and across central Canada over the Great Lakes to Nova Scotia and New England. The species also breeds in the highlands of central Mexico. While some Northern Saw-whet Owls remain present in winter throughout their breeding ranges, many individuals migrate south. Wintering Northern Saw-whet Owls may be found in diverse habitats in winter, including rural and suburban settings, extending to the United States-Mexican border and the Gulf Coast. Northern Saw-whet Owls feed on small mammals, especially deer mice. They locate prey at night by both sight and hearing; as with other owls, their ears are positioned asymmetrically, allowing for precise location of prey in three dimensions, purely by sound. The owls usually eat the front half of a mouse first, then carry the posterior portion back to the roost or nest site. There they may consume the remaining food or stash it on branches; if the food freezes, then they thaw it by lowering their bodies onto it, as if incubating eggs. Northern Saw-whet Owls also take voles, mostly in winter and early spring. Northern Saw-whet Owls nest in tree cavities previously excavated by woodpeckers. They also use nest boxes. Clutches usually consist of five or six eggs. The female alone incubates eggs, leaving the nest each day only for one or two brief periods to defecate and cough up pellets. Her mate feeds her during egg-laying, incubation, and brooding, often storing numerous extra prey items around the nest. After fledging, young birds tend to remain together. The father, and sometimes the mother too, continue to feed the young for at least a month after they leave the nest. Unlike many other owl species, Northern Saw-whet Owls are capable of self-powered flight immediately upon fledging. Length approximately 7.5 to 8 inches. Adult males and females appear similar except for size; females are about 10 percent longer and 30 percent heavier than males. Adults have mostly brown upperparts, with lines of white spots running from the shoulders down the back. Chest and belly have broad vertical brown and white bars. Heads are large and blocky, with no ear tufts. Facial disc is rounded and mostly light-brown, with white above and between the eyes. Eyes appear large even for an owl, with yellow irises. Bill is black. Juveniles are smaller, with mostly dark brown upperparts, head, and facial disc, with a triangular patch of white extending from the forehead down between the eyebrows. Underparts are a warm buff color.