In an old abandoned house we hear spooky, eerie, ghostlike wailing - haunting voices that move through walls and suddenly emerge from a different room. But wait! Halloween has come and gone, or are ...

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 ...

It was a magical time in my backyard for two weeks this past summer. One August morning I walked out the back door just at dawn to meet a friend for a “beat the heat” walk, when suddenly two birds ...

There are sounds of nature that make me stop what I am doing and listen intently, as if drawn into a deep wildness that is both awesome and yet unnerving. No sound does this more for me than the call ...

Eastern screech owls are famous for searching for a comfortable spot in mid-winter and choosing a chimney for its safety from winter storms. You often hear the muffled scratching as he works his way ...

The Eastern screech owl sat motionless in the hole of an oak tree at Lake Livingston State Recreation Area. I was at the lake to see a rather uncommon black-legged kittiwake that had been spotted at ...

On the chilly morning of Dec. 5, Alex Patton headed into a coffee shop in Utica. On his way out, he glanced across the nearby stream and noticed the bird in the accompanying photo. Sharp-eyed Patton ...

I don't know that we are so much creatures of habit as much as people just trying to manage a busy schedule. I am always amazed at what people can now accomplish in a day, although somehow I only ...

We have three small owls that share a lot of characteristics. They are the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) of North America and Eurasia, known as Tengmalm’s owl in Eurasia, and in North America the ...

At the Sweetbriar Nature Center on Long Island, New York, home is where the heart is—even if that’s in a grocery store tote bag. At least, that’s the case for Newton, an adorable screech owl who lives ...