Great Horned Owl looking for dinner – Photo: L. Weikel

Parliament of Owls

Appropriate in this case? Probably not. But it makes for a good title! While a group of owls is technically referred to as a parliament of owls, I suspect the term probably refers to a group of all the same kind of owls. And that was not our experience last night.

But oh, did we receive a wonderful dose of Owl Medicine*!

It was all because we decided to walk a little later than usual, as I mentioned in last night’s post. What an assortment of surprises unfolded for us. Actually, the experience with the owls unfolded before we crested the hill and noticed Antares lurking beneath the moon, and then Jupiter shining like a beacon in the southwest sky, with Saturn bringing up the rear.

YouTube

I probably would’ve written about the owls first, since they arrived first on the scene, but I have to be honest: I couldn’t write about the owls we encountered without including a link to my recording of the screech owl that was calling to us so emphatically.

And while I did manage to figure out how to upload a video to my (Owl Medicine Shamanic Healing) YouTube account a few weeks ago, when I recorded the Coyotes serenading Comet Neowise, I wasn’t familiar enough with the process to easily upload it last night and write a post.

So I saved the owls for tonight. And yea! Not only did I manage to upload my recording of the screech owl trilling and calling last night, but I also found my photos of Hootie, the screech owl that actually flew into the door of my car as I was driving home one night in the middle of a snowstorm. That’s a story for another day.

Walking at Dusk

As you can hear here, there was a Screech Owl serenading us as we walked along the forest-lined road last night. I couldn’t see the owl, but I’m glad its voice was captured pretty well by my phone (amidst the background cacophony of crickets and katydids). I hadn’t meant for the flash to light up as I pressed record, and I was surprised it continued to vocalize so nicely even though I was effectively shining a spotlight into its living room.

I fumbled with the phone after recording the above clip and managed to turn off the flash, but the Screech Owl went quiet. I was grateful for what I’d managed to record.

While Karl and I were marveling at how close the owl had sounded, and reminiscing about our time with Hootie, Karl suddenly grabbed my arm and pointed to the other side of the road, the side that opened out onto fields of hay. “Look! That isn’t…,” he began. “Nah. It must be a peace eagle,” he answered himself. (Peace Eagle is what we were taught years ago is another name Native Americans use for vultures.)

My eyes scanned the branches in the vicinity of where he was pointing.

“Oh! I see it!” I whispered. “No – you were right. You thought it was a Great Horned Owl, didn’t you? ‘Cause that’s what it is.”

I could tell for sure it was a Great Horned by the shape of its head.

We were both giddy with the gift of encountering two different kinds of owls in the span of five minutes.

No Hoots

The Great Horned didn’t hoot at us. While I tried to call to it, all I managed to elicit was a sweet 180 degree swivel of its head in my direction. I’m sure it was probably saying to itself, “What the heck? You’re pathetic.”

While I did manage to video it when it finally flew away, it’s not very clear (it was at full zoom), and it isn’t worth uploading.

On our walk tonight, at about the same time of the evening, we were once again privy to a Screech Owl’s mournful call. Sadly, we neither heard nor saw any Great Horned Owls. But we know they’re out there.

*affiliate link

(T-484)