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two screech owls



Our house in north Asheville, NC is just outside the circle for the
Buncombe County Christmas Count, so our screech-owl sightings Sunday went
officially unrecorded.  As we left home about 530 pm for the countdown, we
saw a red-phase E. Screech Owl catching a few rays in the owl box near our
carport (detached from and behind our house).  Because we had recently seen
a red-phase E. Screech Owl roosting under the eaves on the front of our
house, we drove around front to check that spot -- and saw a second owl
there.  This screech-owl double was a first for us.

Now we want to study up on owl behavior -- to learn whether these birds are
likely mates or prospective mates, and how much territory individuals
require.  We also plan to try at dusk to observe an owl coming out of the
box and/or off the roosting spot.

Our territory in the Buncombe County count consists mainly of north-facing
coves, shady and cold for much of the day Sunday.  We saw more starlings
and crows than anything, and quite a few pieces of woods where chain-saws
and bull-dozers have been working to make more subdivisions in the eastern
part of the county.

Happy New Year to all,

Len Pardue
Asheville, NC