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Saw-whet owls netted: how to find winter Saw-whets
- To: Carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Saw-whet owls netted: how to find winter Saw-whets
- From: "Frank Enders" <fkenders@hotmail.com>
- Date: Tue, 07 Nov 2000 14:37:52 EST
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
The single Northern Saw-whet Owls netted at Halifax NC on October 31 and
November 1st seemed to indicate a large, early movement of the species.
Both were adult females. Typically some 75% of the birds netted along the
East Coast from Cape May to NC are females. My usual average catch of this
species is 5, and the peak time is Nov. 18-21, so these two birds are "early
and many".
However, none have since been captured, and years with high numbers are
ordinarily some 75% immatures. This suggests that reported blizzards in the
Midwest and cold weather in the Northeast have pushed a fairly small number
of mostly adult Saw-whets to us.
There are two places in the Carolinas where Saw-whets are often seen:
McClellanville, SC, just before and on the CBC, and Mashoes Road at Manns
Harbor, NC, both in the northeastern corner of the states.
Sometimes Saw-whets in winter will call "toot-toot-toot ..." in response to
Screech-owl calls, in the case I know about, to a very high-pitched quavery
call given by young humans. There also is a "challenge" call, a whine like
a cross between a Catbird and a Sapsucker that has been heard in NC, in
response, I believe, to a Saw-whet tape (song= "toot-toot-toot"). It is
possible that Saw-whets in the Southeast do not as often give the
"toot-toot.." song because most of the birds in the field are females, and
first-year females, at that.
At Quabbin Reservoir CBC in Massachusetts, I understand Saw-whets will
sometimes respond to Screech-owl tapes, sometimes with their own, similar
Saw-whet quaver, and the "challenge" whine is sometimes heard during
pre-dawn owling. But, the typical scenario on that CBC (which often gets
the high count for Saw-whets in the nation) is for Saw-whet song to be
delivered in response to Saw-whet song.
While it sounds like there are more male Saw-whets farther north, and so
Saw-whet song can be heard there more regularly by observers, and used to
census owls, it is true that records for Saw-whet in Florida include birds
which persistently and/or spontaneously sang; and there are other records in
the Southeast for singing Saw-whets away from the mountains where they are
known to breed.
Again, some 25% of the migrants in the Southeast are males, and females
presumably can sing at times although, as in the human species, males do
seem to be more vocal.
If we do not use Saw-whet tapes (or our voices--this is an easy song to
imitate) when owling, we can hardly expect to find the species.
Oh yes, it is very difficult to find a roosting Saw-whet, partly because
they are so "tame" that they do not flush even if you pass close by them; I
found it difficult to find or re-find banded birds, even those released
after daylight. We all know that the smaller the bird, usually the less
likely or closer it will flush. No percentage for the bird to move about
just to give a predator a shot at it!
Two good ways to find roosting Saw-whets are:
(1) to use a dog which likes to find them for you (apparently one poodle got
satisfaction from seeing the owl flapping at the end of a noose-pole which
the dog's owner used to capture and band the owls), and
(2) to return to a known roost site. Different individual Saw-whets will
use the same roost site over the course of the winter. One person using
this method would find roosts by searching the area near where a road-killed
Saw-whet was found.
Roosts typically have a bit of whitewash and "teeny-tiny" owl pellets,
perhaps a cm in diameter. You might even get lucky and find a cache
consisting of the half a bird or half a mouse, which might be even more
visible than the owl pellets. Saw-whets kill mice and thrush-sized birds,
but often eat only the head-end, on the first go-round.
Presumably the dog might also have cued in on the smell of the pellets and
whitewash, but Saw-whets, to me, seem to smell like sparrows or galliform
birds, so perhaps the dog cues in on the actual bird rather than its waste
products at the roost.
The dog was not deliberately trained, but proved more effective than the
person at finding roosting birds. While I do not want dogs around when I am
birding, maybe some dog-loving Carolinabirders have had luck finding rails,
owl roosts, woodcock and much more. Someday I hope to become more of a
dog-lover myself, since a leashed dog probably would up the number of rails
I can find by severalfold. A Midwestern birder described how a Springer
Spaniel put up an elusive, noncalling Yellow Rail within minutes.
Both these methods of finding roosting Saw-whets were first reported to me
by a person in New Jersey near Philadelphia PA, where the species is much
more common than in the Southeast.
In Iowa some observers had good luck finding roosting Saw-whets in red
cedars in open fields. This tree, recently discussed in Carolinabirds, not
only gives good cover to the owl, but often may be found in open stands
where it it possible to effectively search the entire small tree.
Wintering Saw-whets seem to roost on branches rather than in tree-hollows.
But, Screech-owls will roost on branches of cedars and other trees, as well
as in holes.
In woodlands, red cedar is often so spindly and etiolated I would not expect
Saw-whets to use them, and I also suspect that this owl occurs in more open
habitats than most experts would credit. Honeysuckle thickets in woodlands
are often thick enough to give the bird excellent cover (as in Cape May,
NJ). The presence of Screech-owls in woodlands may be a reason why
Saw-whets might prefer more open habitats in winter.
That is most of what I know about "how to spot a Saw-whet Owl here in
winter". Again, my usual apologies for excessive wordiness.
Frank Enders, Halifax NC. fkenders@hotmail.com
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