Eastern Screech Owl Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Eastern Screech Owls are a species I never really go looking for, but just run across on occasion. I'm sure there are a lot more around than people realize, as they seem to be just as home in a city park as they do in a protected forest. I've had a lot of luck over the years coming across them in and around Beaver Creek Nature Area, where my favorite photo below is also from. It seems there's a higher density of the reddish-morph in that area.

As is often the case, the way I found this owl wasn't because of the owl itself, but of the songbirds that were mobbing it. It didn't seem too bothered by all the activity, but it eventually did fly off into the forest after some particularly aggressive mobbing by a couple of Baltimore Orioles (photo #5 below).

Eastern Screech Owl - Megascops asio


Eastern Screech Owl 1 June 9th, 2004 McKennan Park, Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 2 June 11th, 2006 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 3 June 11th, 2006 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 4 June 9th, 2004 McKennan Park, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Eastern Screech Owl 5 June 11th, 2006 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 6 (Young) June 9th, 2004 McKennan Park, Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 7 June 11th, 2006 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 8 (Young) June 9th, 2004 McKennan Park, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Eastern Screech Owl 9 May 27th, 2007 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 10 May 27th, 2007 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 11 May 27th, 2007 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 12 July 20th, 2008 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota

Eastern Screech Owl 13 July 20th, 2008 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 14 September 3rd, 2007 Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 15 May 28th, 2010 Union Grove State Park, South Dakota	Eastern Screech Owl 16 May 8th, 2015 Beaver Creek Nature Area, South Dakota