Owling Arizona

by Stan Tekiela
© NatureSmart
February 23, 2007

It was a warm and slightly breezy evening. Temperatures were hovering at a comfortable 65 degrees. Perfect for a night hike to search for owls in the desert mountains. The stars were blazing bright above us and I could see the winter-time constellation—Orion reminding me it was indeed winter. The warm nights are the best part of owling in Southeastern Arizona in winter.

I am in the company of Arizona’s “Owl Guy”, Rick Bowers who is by far one of the most experienced wildlife photographer and bird experts in Southeastern Arizona. We are hiking down a very narrow trail in the mountains with a bright moon to guide our way. We stop every so often to listen for the tell tale call of the Whiskered Owl, a tiny owl of oak forests at elevations around 5,000 feet. The call of this tiny owl is a soft steady hoot that becomes irregular and resembles something like Morse Code when the owl becomes excited.

As we walk I only here the sounds of our footstep, no owls. Finally we hear our tiny quarry near the top of an Alligator-bark Juniper about 12 feet off the ground. These evergreen trees grow on the banks of the small stream that cascades down the mountain. We approach the owl and for the first time we switch on our over-sized flash light. There in the beam of the light is the elusive Whiskered Owl calling from his perch. I quickly set up my camera and flash gear and attach it to my tripod. I peer thought the camera lens and manually focus. My flash pops and lights this tiny section of the valley. What a sight, a beautiful tiny owl in wonderful mountain setting. We turn off the flashlight and give each other high fives before heading back down the trail to our car. Wow what a great owl.

Day two of owling in Arizona is clear and warm and the sun is shining bright. We drive out to a remote mountain valley where a very special owl resides—the Spotted Owl (Mexican subspecies). Yes, the very same controversial Spotted Owl you have heard about in the past only it located in the southwest.

The drive up the valley is very bumpy with several washes where water flows over the road. We park and gather up our camera gear and some water for the long hike up the valley. The trail is a narrow path no wider than our foot steps and travels along a dry stream bed. We traverse over large and small boulders and use tree trunks as hand holds to help pull ourselves up. As usual the camera gear is getting heavy. The elevation is slightly over 5,000 feet and the temperatures have dipped into the 40’s and the wind picks up as we climb higher.

We stop occasionally where the habitat looks good to check for the owls. When we can get no higher we fan our and start a tree by tree search for the owls. Within 10-15 minutes we find the owl not in a tree but sitting on a rock of the steep sided canyon wall, trying to stay out of the wind. We set up the camera gear once again and snap off some great images. The owl hears something and flies off but doesn’t go far. We move down and take a few more pictures. We share another high five and get ready for the long hike down back to the car.

Day three finds us on the road again this time we are going to hit several places in one day (daylight) for as many owls as we can find in one day. First stop is an abandoned bridge in the middle of the desert. Sheltered underneath the dilapidated bridge are two Barn Owls sleeping. Very cool! Second stop is a wonderful Inn in the middle of the desert that rents rooms to bird watchers. We amble over to their large pole barn where two adult barn owls are roosting in the rafters. After that we drive over to the final stop of the day, a wildlife management area. Nearing sunset we hike out with our cameras to a grove of trees where owls are known to roost. We find at least 3 Long-eared Owls, 2 Great Horned Owls and 5 or more Barn Owls. At sunset the Great Horn owl takes flight first and perches briefly on the roof of an old abandoned shed. He then flies out to the grove of trees and perches at the top of a tall tree and is silhouetted against the orange glow of the desert setting sun. Next the Barn Owls give a few hoarse calls before taking flight. They fly in several tight circles before landing back in the trees. They do this several times before taking off across the desert in search of a meal. Lastly the Long-eared owls begin to stir. Suddenly they blast out of the thick vegetation and head out for a night of hunting. A day of three species of owl. We are dog tired and head back for a couples hours of sleep before getting up before sunrise for another day of photography.

For the next three days we head up high into the Arizona mountains near the Mexican boarder for more Spotted Owls and Whiskered Owls. Each night we stand outside in the cool mountain air under a sky filled with stars and listen for the calling of owls. Once again we locate a Whiskered Owl and we set out again to see if we can’t capture another image of these elusive birds of the night. This goes on for the next three nights until we are so exhausted we head back to town. Over all a very successful owl trip. For more information on how you can take a owl trip to SE Arizona and see some of these images from this trip visit my web page. Until next time…

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