Eastern Screech Owl Megascops asio
Case 2
A brancher Screech Owl is reunited with its parents using the recorded calls
On May 16, 2005, a brancher Screech Owl was found by the side of the road in a rural area in Shelby County. The finder tied a red ribbon to a tree at the exact spot where the bird was found, and gave detailed directions to find the location. The bird was examined and found to be completely healthy. Two days later, on May 18, Raptor Intern Jessica Leonard took the brancher back to the area where it was found, and managed to locate the red ribbon. It was close to dusk, and Jessie placed the box on the ground in the woods about 30 feet from the road. Then she started playing the recorded Screech Owl calls on the game caller. Within about 20 minutes she heard answering calls from close by, presumably made by the adults, although it was by then too dark to see clearly. She took the brancher out of the box and placed it in secure perch in a tree. For a bird of this age, after such a brief separation, establishing auditory contact was assurance enough that the family would be reunited.
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