Eastern Screech-Owl: "Catching some Zzz's"

Keep it down to a dull roar please

(Eastern Screech-Owl - photo by Neil Barker)

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Much of the world awakens while I get some much-needed sleep.

Daylight and noises all around: sleep does not come easily.

But the warmth of a new day is well worth a little less sleep.

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This is a photo I took of an Eastern Screech-Owl in Ottawa Ontario in mid-February 2022. This Eastern Screech-Owl had been a long-term resident of a local conservation area where I hike regularly. On colder days, this owl would perch at the entrance of this hole and lazily sleep and catch some sunshine.

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Sijo Notes: I continue to follow the 15-syllable count for each line. I tried to imagine this Eastern Screech-Owl had been awake all night and was now settling in for some sleep. The day was cold so the owl decided to perch and catch some sunshine to warm up but also attempt to sleep.

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Bird Notes:

The oldest recorded Eastern Screech-Owl in the wild was at least 14 years, 6 months old when it was found in Ontario in 1968, the same province where it had been banded in 1955.

Eastern-Screech Owl: Cool Facts (AllAboutBirds.org)