Naturally Kiawah Magazine Volume 35 | Page 41

Top photos by Pamela Cohen; bottom photo by Jack Kotz Left/right: Great horned owls with the owlets hatching about two days apart and the oldest owlets often receiving the most food. Owls dine on a variety of prey, including rodents, birds, insects, and amphibians. Some even eat other owls. Since all of Kiawah’s owls enjoy munching on rodents, such as rats and voles, they provide a valuable service by keeping these populations under control on our Island. Before eating, they usually crush their prey to death and then, depending upon the size of the catch, either devour it whole or rip it up. Parts they can’t digest end up as pellets that owls regurgitate. Examination of these pellets can provide ornithologists with valuable information on the diets of specific species. The owl family is divided into two broad categories: barn owls (Tyto alba) and “typical owls” (almost all others). Kiawah residents include barn owls, as well as three species of “typical owls”—barred owls (Strix varia), great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) and Eastern screech owls (Megascops asio). Fortunately, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies all of these in the “least concern” conservation status, though Federal and State law prohibits trapping or killing any owls. Barn owls have a distinctive, white, heart-shaped facial disk with dark eyes that make them easy to distinguish from other typical owls. They also sport more slender and tapered bodies, with proportionally longer legs, than other owls. Their appetite for rodents makes them valuable to farmers. A family of these voracious eaters consumes several thousand rodents during a nesting season. While they received their name for their propensity to nest in abandoned buildings, including barns, the favorite hunting habitat of these nocturnal birds is open grasslands and marshlands. With these areas declining WINTER/SPRING 2016 • VOLUME 35 in the state, the South Carolina Wildlife Action Plan lists barn owls as a species of conservation concern in the state. Barred owls are commonly found in wooded areas throughout the Eastern United States. These large (up to 19.7 inches long) owls are crepuscular, primarily searching for their food at dawn or dusk. They may also hunt during daytime on overcast days or when raising owlets. Relatively small feet limit the size of the prey they can capture—they feast on rodents, birds, frogs, and fish, for which they sometimes wade into the water. Also crepuscular, great horned owls are somewhat larger than barred owls, with a length of up to just over two feet. They prefer wooded areas but can be found anywhere that food supplies are abundant and are common throughout North America. These fierce hunters can capture and eat large prey including ospreys, falcons, and barred owls. Due to their remarkable hunting ability, great horned owls have the most diverse diet of any owls and even eat skunks. Only slightly larger than a blue jay, Eastern screech owls are the smallest owls living on Kiawah. With large heads, prominent ear tufts, and yellow eyes and beak, they feature a classic “owl” appearance. Their call is not a “screech,” as their name implies, but a high-pitched whinny, or sometimes a warbling sound. These nocturnal birds can successfully live in suburban areas as long as there is sufficient tree cover and are the easiest of Kiawah’s owls to attract to our yards. Though it is hard to catch a glimpse of our owl neighbors, we may hope to hear them when dark settles in, when their eerie calls float through the night and remind us how lucky we are to have these amazing, mysterious creatures living among us. NK 39