The Screech Owl Companion

Screech Owl Rescue

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This red-phase Eastern Screech Owl got stuck in a net, and Wayne Township Animal Control brought it to the Franklin Lakes Animal Hospital yesterday. 

Raptor Runner Gaby Schmitt transported it (and a hawk and two warblers) to The Raptor Trust for "some R&R," as FLAH's Donna Pontrelli put it.

What would we do without Franklin Lakes Animal Hospital, The Raptor Trust, and raptor runners like Gaby?  Thanks, all!

(And a big thanks to Wayne Township Animal Rescue as well.)

A Primo Review of My Owl Book

Birding Magazine's September issue features an excellent review of my Screech Owl Companion by noted naturalist and author Carl Safina, who really grasped what co-author Scott Weston and I were striving for.

Interestingly, print subscribers get a condensed review, and digital subscribers get a downloadable pdf of the magazine that includes a more in-depth review.

From Carl Safina’s review, print version:

* “The writing is so rich and delightful that one doesn't read the book so much as savor it.”

* “For screech-owl aficionados, The Screech-Owl Companion will be consulted for years to come.”

And here are a couple of highlights from the digital version:

* “For those of us who love screech-owls -- and I do (but who doesn't?) -- you'll want to secure for yourself this new book about how to attract screech-owls, keep them around, and much, much more.”

* "I was continually impressed at how, paragraph by paragraph, Wright and Weston cover new ground and reveal loads of new and interesting facts, all delivered clearly in graceful sentences."

You can learn more about Birding Magazine and the American Birding Association here.

https://www.aba.org/magazine/

Scott and I are delighted. My only wish is that Carl Safina had mentioned the great photography by Kevin Watson and others in our book, published by Timber Press.

My Next Owl Talk: Sept. 19

All about Screech Owls

A talk for the Thielke Arboretum in Glen Rock

Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 pm

   Screech owls are the owl most likely to nest in a backyard, but few people know much about them let alone how to entice them to nest in the backyard. Jim Wright, author of The Screech Owl Companion, from Timber Press, will tell all. Jim thinks the photos alone are worth the price of this entertaining compendium, but see for yourself.

   Jim will be happy to sell and sign copies of his owl book and his other books after the talk.

   The Thielke Arboretum is located at 460 Doremus Ave.

   You can register here:

https://www.thielkearboretum.org/thielke-thursday-series...

 

Listen to My NPR Interview

On Tuesday evening, my Screech Owl Companion co-author Scott Weston were guests on "Bird Calls," an NPR program out of Shreveport. Host Cliff Shackelford, Scott, and I could see one another on Zoom while we chatted.

Above is a shot I grabbed with my iPhone while we were waiting for Scott to log in. That's Kiara Lafitte of the great "Bird Calls" tech team in the foreground on the left, me on the right, and Cliff -- a real screech owl aficionado and inventor of the Owl Shack nestbox -- below with the earphones.

You can  hear the show  by going here:

https://www.redriverradio.org/show/bird-calls/2024-08-12/bird-calls-orange-crowned-warbler

and then clicking

The segment with Scott and me starts at 6:30... If you look across the top, you can see where you can slide the tab and fast-forward through the opening (which is about birds mating for life -- or not -- and Orange Crowned Warblers:

'Screech Owl Companion' on the Air

Scott Weston and I will talk about screech owls on Bird Calls, a monthly, live radio show about birds and nature on NPR's affiliate Red River Radio out of Shreveport.

 

We'll talk about screech owls, our book, an amazing new application for Scott's nestbox design, and the real James Bond. We'll also field questions from listeners.

 

The host is Cliff Shackelford of Nacogdoches, Texas, retired State Ornithologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

 

You can stream the hour-long show live at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at https://www.redriverradio.org/

 

or listen to the podcast (usually available within 48 hours after the show at https://www.redriverradio.org/show/bird-calls

Screech Owl Was a Terrible Patient

 

Came across this fascinating screech owl rehab article, which begins:

"With the summer season in full swing, the various wildlife of Massachusetts is more active than ever. And as a result, so are the various organizations and centers thatdeal in wildlife rescue. For those operations, the vast majority of ‘patients' are the orphaned wildlife that come from the breeding seasons. 

"And while dealing with orphans is never a good or fun thing, at the very least the cuteness of those ‘patients' can not be denied. However, recently a local wildlife center had to deal with a patient that was not a model patient."

 

Guess who?

You can read it here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/injured-screech-owl-was-a-bad-patient-for-local-wildlife-rescue/ar-BB1owT8L

An Injured Screech’s Miraculous Recovery

                                             Cape Wildlife Center photo

Just saw this story about an injured screech owl the web and wanted to share:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/injured-screech-owl-was-a-bad-patient-for-local-wildlife-rescue/ar-BB1owT8L

An Amazing Owl Box

Nic Korte, an excellent owler out West who was so helpful for The Screech Owl Companion, writes:

Non-native Fox Squirrels have recently arrived in one area and have taken over all the boxes. Fox Squirrels are a total novelty to WESOs [Western Screech Owls] and we were chagrined to find them. 

 

We replaced the boxes in this one area this spring with the box design shown in the photo. We probably replaced them too late this year for WESOs to use.

 

Of course, that is not a Screech Owl in the photo, but a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. Friends of mine in Costa Rica have found this design effective. 

 

Thanks, Nic!

Upcoming Talks: Two Major Festivals

Attending New Jersey Audubon's  Cape May Spring Birding Festival or Maine’s Acadia Birding Festival later this month?

Don’t miss one of my talks about my latest book, The Screech Owl Companion. 

In Cape May, I’ll be speaking at the Grand Hotel at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 17. I’ll also be helping with owl prowls at Cape May State Park on the nights of May 17 and 18.

In Southeast Harbor on Maine’s Mount Desert Island, I’ll be speaking at the Wendell Gilley Museum at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 31, live and via Zoom.

The Cape May Spring Festival is May 16 to May 19. You can read more here:

https://njaudubon.org/cape-may-spring-festival/

The Acadia festival is from May 29 to June 2. You can read more here:

https://www.acadiabirdingfestival.com/

Both festivals are terrific. Don’t miss out.

How to Order a Signed Copy

If you'd like me to sign (or sign and inscribe) a copy of The Screech Owl Companion for you, contact me at wrightjamesb (at) gmail.com to get more information -- including how to pay easily via PayPal (or by check if you'd prefer -- it'll just take a bit longer to send you the book).

The $30 cost includes shipping and Media Mail postage. Orders from outside the United States will cost more, depending on postage costs.

The book also makes a great gift for a birders (young birders, too).