I have recorded the long-eared owl, great horned owl, screech owl, barn owl, barred owl and short-eared owls in Carbon County.

Two others, the snowy and saw whet owl occasionally make an appearance here. The long-eared owls once nested here but I don't believe there have been any records of that in 40 or more years.The short-eared is an occasional winter visitor as is the even more rare snowy owl.The saw whet owl appears more regularly after migrating into our region before winter. I'll focus on the two most common, the screech owl and great horned owl.The screech owl is found in two color phases or morphs; the red, seen here, and more commonly, a gray phase. A female screech owl could have both color phase young in the same brood.They nest in natural tree cavities and readily accept man-made owl boxes.For a number of years I monitored five boxes and usually two were occupied.Screech owls are found in woodlots, forests, towns, (seldom open field areas), and usually close to a water source.The screech owl normally lays four eggs. After the young mature and leave the nest, they depend on the parents to supply them with food for about two months.A young screech owl was temporarily taken from a nest box to be banded. It had a week or more to remain in the nest waiting for its flight feathers to fully erupt.I am able to gently move the brooding female aside as I count her eggs or check if they'd hatched with no opposition from her.The male brings food to the brooding female and both feed the owlets in the nest and after fledging. They feed on small rodents, large insects, birds, large earthworms, and to my surprise, even small fish.My birding buddy Dave and I checked in on the progress of an owl box near Andreas and found two small brook trout in the nest debris with the owlets.They will vocalize mostly in late winter closer to breeding time. They do not make a typical owl hoot but rather a quavering call; not really a screech as their name implies.The great horned owl is the largest owl commonly found here.They reach about 22 inches in size with the female appreciably larger. They are more commonly heard than seen.In October you will probably begin hearing their "Hoo, hoo, hoo - hoo, hoo as they begin pairing up again for breeding.If you listen carefully, the male's calls are much lower-pitched.They are very early breeders and often are incubating eggs by late January. They don't build their own nests and utilize old red-tailed hawk or crow nests. She generally has two eggs, brooding them 25 days. The young owls often fledge before being strong flyers and can be found in low vegetation or stumps begging to be fed.Horned owls eat rabbits, mice, geese, other owls, crows, house cats and skunks. (Skunk's chief predator.) On your nature walks, if you hear crows wildly "crowing" they have probably discovered a roosting owl and are trying to drive it from their "neck of the woods."The young owl pictured here shows the facial disc which helps some owl species direct the slightest sounds to their ears.Remember both of these owls have ear tufts with their actual ears located on the side of their head.All owl species gulp down fur, feathers, flesh and bones, later they regurgitate pellets of matted fur, etc.Look for these pellets to help locate an owl roosting area.Owls have many great adaptations and I hope to focus on those at another time.Hey, get out there and enjoy.Test your nature knowledge:The ______ is another Pennsylvania success story now found throughout much of our state after being reintroduced to Pennsylvania in 1917. A. Beaver, B. Black bear, C. Red fox, D. Red-tailed hawkLast week's trivia: The bobcat, black bear, and coyote will all eat fawns if the opportunity arises.Barry Reed can be reached at

breed71@gmail.com.