On some evenings, especially lately here in Morgan County (old DeLorme 70 D2) I have had up to four screech owls vocalizing simultaneously on and around the rural acres that I live. I think there are a lot of factors effecting the way we hear screechs - that are not limited to the owl itself. For instance - wind direction, relative humidity/dew point, air temperature and atmospheric pressure certainly have to play a role. Sometimes when the wind is calm and the pressure is low I can hear the trains through the hills, which is easily over 5 miles away the way the crow flies. The train can sound like its barreling up through the woods when really it is quite far away. However, I'm sure that the owl adjusts its volume relative to the emphasis it wants to put on its message. I have heard them so softly and other times loudly enough to surprise you when see how small they really are. One of the four owls I hear is a brilliant red phase bird. Glen Crippen Burr Oak Lake --- On Tue, 9/9/08, Laura Dornan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: From: Laura Dornan <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] screech owl loudness variations To: [log in to unmask] Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 7:21 PM Our neighbors have "hosted" a couple of screech owls this summer. They invited us over 1 evening to see them. Both birds did an extremely soft whinny, so soft we could barely hear them, even though they were perched on the top of the fence only 5 feet away. It was the softest sound coming from a screech owl I have ever heard. They both called in the same volume. Laura Dornan Stark County **************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com. (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014) ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]