On a dark night some eighty years ago while sitting on the front porch on a summer night a strange sound rushed out of the nearby woods alerting me to the formerly unknown. I thought it was an eerie sound. It seemed to be a kind of whistling sound that started at a pitch somewhere above the treble clef and bounced down in little steps for about three quarters of an octave in about a second.

“What was that?” I asked of my uncle who sat there with me.

“What was what?” he said. Then the sound repeated. “Oh, that. Just a bird.”

“A bird? But it’s dark. I thought birds went to sleep at dark.”

“Not that bird, he sleeps in the daytime and travels around at night looking for food.”

“What kind of food?”

“Oh, a mouse or maybe a little kitten or some other little critter that stays out too late,” Uncle said.

“Could he eat me?” I had visions of some huge bird that flew around on Halloween with the legendary witches riding their brooms and goblins that would get me if I didn’t watch out.

“No, no, he’s not big enough to eat you. He’s not as big as a crow. He’s a screech owl. He gets his name from the sound he makes,” Uncle assured me.

"Thank goodness,” I said and listened for the next “screech”. I still thought it an eerie sound but unique and interesting.

Since that night long ago, I have heard many screech owl calls and each has demanded my attention. To this day I stop and listen until he moves on to another spot to continue somewhere out of earshot. Then I hope he will soon return.

Solitary birds sleeping by day, owls are seldom seen. One could be roosting among the foliage of a tree in your yard undetected, but there’s no doubt about his presence when he calls. What does his call mean? Is it a call to a mate or is it a warning to a potential intruder? I believe it could be either, but I think it is usually a warning to other owls to beware, that he is ready to fight for his territory.

No matter what it means to the bird, I love to hear it. I’m willing to drop almost anything to go outdoors at the least hint that he is performing and listen to his song. I recently wrote a few words from my imagination of the start of the screech owl’s day because his song gives me a peculiar pleasure.