On Silent Wings

I was drifting off to sleep recently when I heard the unmistakable sound of an owl hooting. Not a single "hoo", but a soft dove-like series of notes, repeated several times.  “Did you hear the owl?” I asked Siegie the next morning.

Yes, he had and we agreed that it had been a wood owl. These melodious little owls frequent our area, but it's not often that we hear one and we've yet to actually see one.

In my book, owls are special. Because they are nocturnal and so silent on the wing, they are often missed – unless you happen to be using a spotlight. One night a couple of years ago, Siegie was parked out down near the river while out on a Neighbourhood Watch patrol. Shining the spotlight into the foliage, he caught the reflection of a pair of eyes and realised there was a barn owl sitting in a tree.

I was very envious when he told me the story. Many years ago we’d heard a barn owl giving its dreadful screech when we were living on the other side of Hout Bay, but this was the first time either of us had seen one. It doesn’t seem right that an owl with such a lovely face can produce a blood-curdling screech instead of a melodious hoot.

The spotted eagle owl, on the other hand, has the quintessential owl hoot and is more likely to be seen during the day. Over the years, I’ve had some wonderful encounters with these large “eared” owls. I once surprised one at the bottom of our garden, standing in the middle of the path leading down to the river. I wanted to sit down and watch it for a while, but our cat came along and disturbed it.

A few winters ago, another eagle owl spent several days roosting in the bare branches of the weeping willow above the washing line. I grew quite fond of him and even called him Ollie. He and I had some marvellous one-sided conversations when I hung out the washing.

I’ve also seen Ollie – or one of his cousins – down on the riverbank many times. Favourite roosts include a fence post, a large rock or the branch of another weeping willow.

But perhaps the most thrilling Ollie experience we’ve had happened early one evening. Siegie called me out on to the patio to hear an owl hooting from a tree right in front of our patio. It was around 7pm and was just getting dark. The owl was beautifully outlined against the dusky sky as it perched on a long bare branch.

We watched and listened for several long minutes. Finally, it flew away on silent wings.