Meet our New Screech Owls

Great Hollow is the proud new guardian of two eastern screech owls that were rescued by a local wildlife rehabilitator after being hit by cars. One is blind in one eye and the other has permanent wing damage as a result of the collisions, so they are not capable of surviving in the wild. They will be well taken care of at Great Hollow while being used in our education programs as ambassadors for their species and messengers of the human impacts to wildlife. Weighing less than half a pound and standing only 6 inches tall, screech owls are among the most adorable birds of prey. They are common in suburban landscapes and even sometimes in cities, where they spend the day roosting in tree cavities and the night hunting small mammals and large invertebrates. They can be gray, brown, or auburn in color. Despite their name, screech owls do not actually “screech” and instead make soft trills and whining sounds when communicating with each other. Our two screech owls are now on display alongside our resident barred owls and red-tailed hawks, so come check them out any time!