I am so excited about the cool weather that has come over middle Tennessee the last week or so. We've LOVED having the windows open and spending time on the porch and all that fun fall stuff: minus the mosquitoes. Unfortunately they show their presence with quite a vengeance.
The other night we heard the weirdest noise, like a shrill repetitive whinny for a minute or two. I thought a little kid was hurt out in the neighborhood, but then I couldn't imagine a child being quite that repetitive (obviously I'm not parental material). Ran upstairs and looked directly into the giant hackberry tree in the backyard, and could just make out that it was a bird of some sort; I startled it and it flew to a nearby branch. I was amazed to see it was a tiny owl!
Cornell U has a great bird site so I found it with no trouble: an Eastern Screech Owl. My dad was delighted to hear of its appearance, being quite the birdaholic his entire life. He said that they usually only get to be about the size of a Coke can, at most. And the website mentioned them being mortal enemies with starlings, that bane of our neighborhood and many others. So come back and do starling crowd control!
Come back, little owl, and we promise to not be freaked out and startle you back.
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