UPDATE: A few readers — Julie K, Peter D, Bethany H– say it’s an Eastern Screech Owl, according to an Audubon book and sources such as this. And we also heard from Stacy Miller at Audubon’s Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick who says: “It’s an Eastern Screech Owl in the red phase. They are also seen in a gray phase. The sounds they make include a high trill and a screech sound. By late winter they will be starting their mating/nesting/egg laying time and will be heard more often. It looks like this little guy may have already found the nesting site – they nest in cavities.”
Thanks to Valerie G. of Wellesley for passing along this spectacular picture of an owl she saw outside her window today.
Does anyone know what kind of owl it is? I’ve made an inquiry to Mass Audubon.
We hear owls in Wellesley all the time, though haven’t run across many. There used to be a barred owl, I believe, in a big tree at the Hunnewell School.
Wellesley has become a veritable wildlife kingdom this year, with Wellesley police spotting everything from fox-skunk battles to a wild cow.
We love getting animal pictures, so feel free to send them along here.
And oh, reader Jennifer P kindly sent us a picture of a Wellesley giraffe a while back that I’ve been waiting for an excuse to run. So there you go.
Related: Wellesley yard art
Great photo. I work for Mass Audubon and it is in fact an Eastern Screech-owl. Thanks for sharing!
Mass. Audubon has a great webpage for ID’ing owls at http://www.massaudubon.org/owls/
Hi! It’s a screech owl – here’s a link to a picture: http://www.prairiestateoutdoors.com/images/uploads/Eastern_screech_owl.JPG