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eastern screech owls

The three Eastern Screech Owls that live at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center all have different injuries that prevent them from living in the wild. The red phase female owl arrived as an adult in March of 1999. She had a fractured left wing. The healing process was thought to be a success; however, she could not fly well enough at the time of release.

In September of 1999 a gray phase adult male owl was brought to the Center. He has a very obvious permanent injury to the right eye, making it hard to catch live prey; therefore, he cannot be released.

The other male gray phase owl arrived in June of 2002 from the Medina Raptor Center. He has an injury to his left eye and also has a lead pellet embedded in his left wing.

fun facts!

• One of the three most common owls in Ohio, along with Great-horned and Barred.
• A very small owl. As an adult is only about 9 inches tall and weighs only about 6 ounces.
• There are two color phases, red and gray, which do produce intergrades when the two colors mate.
• They eat mostly insects but also small mammals, small birds, reptiles and amphibians.
• They nest in tree cavities. Standing dead trees are important to them for nesting sites and food as the dead tree becomes infested with bugs.
• All owls have exceptional hearing. They have ears right behind their face that are lopsided. This allows for exceptional depth perception and can help them locate prey items without using their eyes.
• They regurgitate pellets which consist of bones and fur from prey items. They do this with the parts of food that would take a long time to digest. This helps them save energy.

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