Screech Owls Fly home to Birmingham (No, They Don't Screech)

BIRMINGHAM, MI – More eastern screech owls may soon be flying home to Birmingham home.

Birmingham resident and Friends of the Rouge volunteer Oz Forrester recently built some new owl nesting boxes and refurbished others along a trail that traces the flow of the Rouge River.

Stay Connected

• Sign up for the free daily Birmingham Patch newsletter and news alerts.
• Like Birmingham Patch on Facebook

“This is just my way of helping out,” Forrester told The Birmingham Eccentric. “I think we now have seven boxes along the trail.”

Eastern screech owls, or Megascops asio, are small, about the size of robin, according to the the Audubon Society. Though still fairly common, they have declined in some areas, which makes Forrester’s efforts all the more important.

Here are some more facts about this pint-sized owl:

They have excellent hearing, can see extraordinarily well at night and have bright yellow eyes. They’re nocturnal, hunting at dusk and during the overnight hours, and feed mainly on insects, rodent and small birds.

Despite their common name, eastern screech owls don’t screech. Rather, they whinny and trill softly.

Here’s something else you may not know: A group of owls is known as a parliament.

» Photo via Wikimedia / Creative Commons