From Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Whether you consider that sound at night to be haunting or adorable, most of us agree that eastern screech owls don’t really ‘screech’. If you haven’t heard one, you’re missing out!

These little guys depend on tree cavities like this to nest, but they don’t make their own! That’s why they take advantage of standing dead trees and even manmade nest boxes to raise their young.

Despite being well-off in relativity to other bird species, eastern screech owls declined by roughly 37% from 1996 to 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. This lucky shot from one of our refuge volunteers is truly a remarkable sighting!