Our Beautiful
― and Badass ―
Barn Owls
After Years of Waiting,
We’re Thrilled to Welcome a New Nest
By Tyler Hayden | June 6, 2024
I really shouldn’t say “our” barn owls. They belong to no one. But it’s hard not to feel some pride for the new residents of the owl box we hung expectantly on a jacaranda tree five long years ago.
We’d almost given up hope anyone would move in. The seasons came and went with only woodpeckers occasionally banging on the plywood and a pigeon booking a (thankfully) short stay. Even a nearby finch nest failed. We lost a couple of eggs ourselves. Maybe it’s just not meant to be, we thought.
Then, this April, we started hearing the long, rasping “screeeEEEch” of a barn owl in the neighborhood. It’s a magnificent but eerie sound. If you’re not used to it, it’s enough to stop you in your tracks and pray some otherworldly spirit didn’t just descend on your house. The screams would sometimes be followed by softer trills that males use to invite females to a nest site. That meant he was close. The signs were good.
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