Tag Archives: screech owl

Thick fog prolongs the dawn light for...

Thick fog prolongs the dawn light for hours. A screech owl is answered by a pileated woodpecker, dirge giving way to second-line ululation.

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At sunrise, a pair of screech owls...

At sunrise, a pair of screech owls trill back and forth, one high, one low, as orange-and-purple clouds race overhead.

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Gray sky; the smell of rain. Two insomniac...

Gray sky; the smell of rain. Two insomniac screech owls exchange trills. Then the low-frequency thumps of a grouse. An enormous silence.

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At mid-morning, the trill of a screech...

At mid-morning, the trill of a screech owl. The sun struggles to shine; blurry shadows appear. A crow flies over quacking like a mallard.

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Clear, cold, and very quiet. A distant...

Clear, cold, and very quiet. A distant train whistle is picked up and repeated by a screech owl. The incremental progress of the moon.

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Screech owls at dawn—a wavering duet...

Screech owls at dawn—a wavering duet. Winged shadows meet for a second in mid-air, then perch in adjacent treetops, ruffling their feathers.

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Like a familiar word in the middle...

Like a familiar word in the middle of a speech in some other language: through the roar of traffic from over the ridge, a screech owl calls.

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Dawn finds the first snow — a faint...

Dawn finds the first snow — a faint dusting. It’s very still. Down in the pines, a screech owl quavers. The slow footfalls of a deer.

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