Al's Return

Back in February I blogged about the screech owl that had been visiting us all winter.  Angie named him Little Al.  He was a real blessing and we enjoyed his many visits as random as they were at times.  His visits lessened as we moved into March.  There was a few days he was here and calling in the early morning, most likely looking for a mate.  Then he was gone.  We figured he left his cozy house and went off to the nearby golf course or the woods just beyond, seeking out a mate, and maybe setting up a nest somewhere else.  It made us sad but we were very thankful for having three months with this bird.  Not everyone is blessed to have an owl sleep in their backyard, are they?

As you can tell by this blog title, he has returned.

Here he is from today, April 4th.

I was going out this morning to get fruit and other necessities for the week when I heard all the ruckus coming from five blue jays in the backyard.  They were all swooping the box, standing on the roof and just screaming down to the entry hole below.  While I couldn't see what was causing them so much upset, I knew there had to be an owl inside.  I quickly went off to run my errand, being glad that I had a list with me, because all I could think about was what was going on back at home.  It had to be Little Al.

When I returned home, I decided to spend some time out in the yard.  It was a pleasant early spring day; I cleaned out a couple of the bird baths and filled them with water.  I puttered about the yard, picking up some trash that had blown in at some point over the winter.  As I was down by the shed, I happened to look up to the box and just like that, there was the owl.  SWEET!  I had my camera with me just in case, and took a few photos.  They look much the same as my winter pictures but what the hell; I was still capturing a wonderful encounter, that being Al's return.  Luckily Angie was working from home so she could enjoy the moment with me.

Al would roost at the entrance for lengthy amounts of time.  Then a couple blue jays would fly in and start yelling at him, swooping the box.  Al would retreat inside.  The jays would go away and eventually Al would surface again.  This scenario repeated itself a number of times throughout the day.

It was great to see him again.  We hope this wasn't just a one off.

This wasn't his actual return day though.  On Friday night I got home from work.  I backed the Mazda into the driveway.  As I stepped out, I instantly noticed a screech owl sitting on the house next door.  It was at the corner of the roof that overhangs their porch adjacent to ours.  Seconds later the owl flies down to the corner post on our front porch.  He's now glaring into the cedar hedge.  I'm still standing next to the car at this point, in awe at what I was seeing.  The owl turns his head and looks at me.  Next thing I know he flies out from the post, swoops low over my head, I could feel the flap of his wings mess up my hair.  He then circled back over me and returned to the porch post.  Wow!  So cool to see this.  I managed to get a s**t record shot of the moment with my mobile.  I don't think he was greeting me.  I think it was more like "go away, I'm hunting!"  I know he was hunting for house sparrows in our front hedges.  A dozen or more sleep there every night.  They often wake us up in the morning with their chirping.

I gave him his space and made my way into the house through the back.  Angie was up waiting for me as per norm for a Friday night; most nights she is usually in bed by now since she has to work in the morning.  We talked for a bit.  I told her about the owl.  After she went to bed, I got my camera, then headed out to the front in hopes of seeing him, perhaps getting a better photo.  Unfortunately he was gone by the time I returned.  Oh well, I was so stoked by this encounter.  It's not every day that you have an owl in your face, kind of attacking your head.  HAHA!

As I wrap up this blog a day later, the jays are back and yelling at the owl house.  Gotta love our backyard snitches.  It's drizzling out so I doubt Al will show himself this morning but I will be watching.

Here is a short video I took of him yesterday from our back deck.  It's not the most exciting video to watch but it is for us since this is right here at home.  If you aren't very familiar with eastern screech owls, here is a link to learn more about them.

I have had three blogs in my head and was going to work on one of them, but then this happened.  Hopefully I can get to the others soon before another "distraction" happens.

Cheers!