Saw-whet owls are very common but hard to see

“I was told that there are a pair of Saw-whet owls here, but I sure cannot find them,” a birding lady asked me as we were on a well-used trail running through some thick brush. “Have you seen them?”

“If you turn around and look up about two feet, you may see two yellow eyes staring at you,” I replied. She was not more than three feet away from the small seven-inch bird sitting on a small limb under a canopy of debris. About 18 feet away was its mate – again only about eight feet off the ground, tucked in thick brush with only one eye visible.

These very small owls are probably the most numerous of all owls in the United States but are extremely nocturnal and blend in very well in their daylight hiding spots. I have found that they find a favorite roosting spot and use it for long periods of time. These roosting trees are one of the easiest ways to find them as they whitewash the tree with their “bird doo-doo” while sleeping.

They like thick brush, especially conifer trees to live in, but I have found more in the Snake and Teton River bottoms than in the area forests. This is probably due because they are cavity nesters and most natural cavities are found in deciduous trees like aspens and cottonwoods. They are also attracted to nest boxes made specifically for them.

I have built and placed six nests for these tiny owls to use along the Teton River and have had up to three of the boxes used by them. As they use one of these nest boxes, it gives me a place to start while I am searching for them.

Saw-whets are very tolerant of people, especially the adults, and usually do not flush until you are closer than two feet away from them. This often leads to people wanting to touch or even pick them up to take a “selfie” with them; this should never be done as it will disrupt their habits and cause them to abandon the area.

While Great-horned owls start nesting in February, these owls wait until at least April through June before they nest and their nesting habits are rather strange.

It starts off rather normal after a suitable nest is found with the female laying from four to seven eggs and sitting on them while the male brings her meals to her. Being so small, mice is the preferred food which is tore into pieces small enough for them to swallow. The female is a dedicated housekeeper and keeps everything clean on the inside.

When hunting is good, the male will harvest extra food and cache it just in case he cannot find fresh offerings. After the eggs hatch, his job gets a lot more intense because he must feed up to eight hungry birds; but not for long.

When the owlets are well feathered, the male wakes up one evening and finds that his Mrs. has flown the nest – she is gone – probably tired of all the sitting, cleaning and maybe even some bad food. It is now his job to gather food – and to clean the house, which he is not inclined to do; a typical man. Left over food, feces and regurgitated owl pellets soon start building up on the floor of the abode making it smell so even humans can locate the nest by the smell.

About two weeks after Mom abandons the kids, they move out of the nest and camp out in the thickets near the nest. Here they learn to fly and to hunt, but they are very vulnerable to be killed by other predators. Great-horned owls, hawks, mink, marten and coyotes get a lot of them before they are expert fliers.

In the meantime, the female often finds lonely male for another short romance that results in a second batch of owlets. So goes the roller coaster life for the Northern Saw-whet owl species. Bird experts admit that due to their extreme nocturnal behavior and their ability to hide, little is known about the habits of these owls and why they do certain things.

I had a friend call me as he was getting a pile of bird poop on his driveway and couldn’t find the origin of it. inally, after a month he finally located a Saw-whet totally hidden just three branches up in the large pine. Why did it roost there, out on the edge of the tree away from protection of the wind and snow? Or why in the world would one follow a customer into the Rexburg Albertson’s Store this last winter? What tempted the bird to fly through the open doors only to fly back out a short time later?

Because of their cuteness and their ability to hide, they will always draw people to look for them. If you find one, count yourself lucky indeed, it is just one of those things that attract us to the mystical world we live in.