“It was the strangest sound I’ve ever heard. Spooky. Late at night, out in the woods, moving fast through the trees. I have it on tape. Would you like to hear it?” I stood in my safe little kitchen ...

Three screech-owls are found in North America: eastern, western and whiskered. But about 22 screech-owl species are found in the world, all in the Americas. Estimated breeding populations of ...

"It sounded like a woman was being murdered!" How many times I've heard people describe a sound in the night with that exact phrase, well, I can't even guess at the number. I've even heard it myself.

This past summer I heard my first screech owl. My son, who majored in mythologies of nature in college was excited to hear this. He told me about how entwined screech owls are with our feelings about ...

The sound was unmistakable and led me outdoors to face the thick woods across the road. In the advancing twilight the sound pierced the darkness again, and then again. The ghostly mournful wail, best ...

Of all the bird sounds we hear in our region during winter, the call of the western screech owl may be the most bizarre. Despite the owl’s name, it doesn’t screech, nor does it go hoo-hoo-hoo. Instead ...

Though common and widespread, it is rarely seen. More often it is heard. I’m speaking of the Western Screech Owl, the Coachella Valley’s smallest owl. Standing only eight inches tall and weighing in ...

Spotting an owl glide through the treetops is a thrilling experience, its silhouette a shadow against the twilight sky. A hallmark of owls is their completely silent flight. But when they do make ...

Owls are more often heard than seen. In New York, there are eight species of these interesting raptors, with the majority most active at night. Some live here year-round, some are migratory. They ...

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook. On Jan. 23, on a cold, still, moonlit night, I sat in the Adirondacks and, as is my wont, listened for wild sounds. Because I sat beside a set of big ...