One of my favorite times in the park is early morning, before sunrise. It’s dark and quiet but not as empty and scary as it might be late at night. I’ll see the bobbing headlamp of a runner or cyclist approaching; from the tennis courts comes the plonking sound of players thwacking balls.
The other morning I was walking along Nancy Pelosi Drive behind the Academy of Sciences, when suddenly I heard a soft whispery hoo-h’hoo hoo-hoo. The sound repeated and then came an answering hoo-hoo-hoo. I pulled out my phone and quickly checked Merlin, the bird-identification app that has changed my life, and sure enough, the sound was exactly what I hoped it was: a pair of great horned owls.
It was the first time I ever heard great horned owls in the park. I knew they were to be found there. Earlier this year, one got caught in netting at the bandshell and there’s an incredible video of its rescue. I’d been told there was a pair nesting near the Academy of Sciences, though I’d yet to come across them.
The calls came again — eerie and magical.
It was too dark to see so I stood still trying to locate the source. Then a shadow passed overhead silently --a silhouette of broad wings -- and disappeared into the trees at the entrance of the AIDS Grove. I crossed the street and looked up into the trees. The moon shone through the branches and for a few minutes I listened to the two great birds call out to one another. It was a perfect start to the day.
My recording isn’t great. The calls start 14 seconds in
It really IS magical. And also insanely romantic. We call out, never knowing, into the dark. And sometimes, the universe calls back. - Who? - Indeed. 🦉
I’m kind of afraid of owls. In Iowa, Barred Owls had a bad habit of attacking people in public places. Maybe your park’s Great horned owls are kinder and gentler?
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/02/1133260919/an-owl-twice-attacked-a-washington-woman-a-biologist-says-its-becoming-more-comm