From Southwest VA Wildlife Center of Roanoke

We’ve gotten oodles of Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio) this fall and winter! While it’s normal to receive more raptors in the colder months, we usually see roughly the same amount of owls AND hawks… However, we’ve had mostly Screechies, and ALL have come in due to vehicle strikes!

They are expert nighttime hunters who sometimes like to wait by roadsides, since the open road makes it easy to spot their scurrying prey. Since they don’t know to look both ways before swooping in for the kill, they are frequent victims of vehicle strikes, often resulting in death for the owl.

Luckily for the 6 Eastern Screech-Owls currently in our care, all of them had disabling but treatable head trauma, bruising, and eye abrasions from their collisions. Even when they’re not feeling well, these tiny owls have BIG personalities and-to the human eye- very expressive faces!

This species comes in both red and gray morphs, with reds making up an estimated 1/3 of the Eastern Screechy’s population. However, since we’re on the eastern side of their range, we see the red morphs more often! This could also be a case of injured red Screechies being easier to spot on the side of the road, while the well-camouflaged grays go unseen more often.

If you haven’t ever heard the hauntingly adorable song of an Eastern Screech Owl, treat your ears to some recordings at the link below! (The aforementioned link!)