Silent Flight

Eastern Screech-Owl

Owls have fascinated man from time immemorial – to some cultures they are symbols of wisdom, while to others they are harbingers of doom and death.  Adding to the mystique of these creatures is that they are mainly active at night, using their exceptional vision, acute hearing, and silent flight to stealthily hunt down their prey.

Common in Central Texas, the Eastern Screech-Owl is found in wooded suburban and rural areas and readily nests in tree cavities as well as man-made nest boxes.  A small owl 6-10” long with a wingspan of 19-24”, it has feathered ear tufts and is normally gray, brownish-gray, or less commonly reddish-brown.  The Eastern Screech-Owl eats a variety of small animals, and each night consumes from one-quarter to one-third of its own body weight.  It uses a soft trilling call to keep in contact with a mate or family members, and the male’s trill can advertise a nest site when courting a female or signal an arrival at the nest with food.  This owl also has a descending whinny, which is used to defend its territory.  Eastern Screech-Owl pairs are usually monogamous and remain together for life, although they will take a new mate when one dies.  In mid-April, the female lays 3-4 eggs on average, and the downy white owlets emerge from the nest by mid-May.

Great Horned Owl

Also common but much larger at 18-25” long with a wingspan of 40-57”, the Great Horned Owl prefers habitats of secondary-growth woodlands mixed with open meadows.  Often found perching next to an open area and nests in tree hollows, broken off snags, or nests made by other large birds.  It has prominent ear tufts spaced widely on its head, a brownish-gray body with dark barring, and a rusty facial disk edged in black surrounding each of its orange-yellow eyes. The Great Horned Owl has a broad diet of small mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles, and is the only animal the regularly eats skunks.  They have a large repertoire of sounds, but the most common is that of the male’s resonant territorial call ‘hoo-hoo hoooooo hoo-hoo’ that can be heard over several miles through the canyons on a still night. These owls are solitary in nature, only staying with their mate during the nesting season of January and February. Typically 2-4 eggs are laid and incubated solely by the female, until the young start roaming from the nest six to seven weeks later.  

The structure of an owl’s feather is the main reason they can fly so silently.  The leading edge of their primary wing feathers are serrated like a comb, which breaks down the turbulence into smaller, micro-turbulences.  The soft, tattered edges of their secondary feathers allow those small currents of air to pass through them and further reduce the turbulence behind their wings.  In addition, the velvety down feathers found in the wing linings and on their legs further dampen and absorb sound frequencies.  Together, these features allow the owl to greatly reduce the overall noise caused by the turbulence of air flowing over them as they fly.  

Fields of Gold

Cooler temperatures and shorter days mark the onset of autumn, and the golden colors of the season begin to surround us.  Among the amber and scarlet hues making an appearance in the landscape, one cannot help but notice three of our most common fall-blooming native plants: Goldeneye (Viguiera dentata), Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida),  and Prairie Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis).  

A member of the sunflower family, Goldeneye is a bushy, drought-tolerant, multi-branched plant that tends to grow in colonies, providing rich swaths of golden color along our roadsides and in open areas.  It has narrow leaves and numerous 1.5 inch daisy-like flowers at the tips of long, slender stalks.  Growing to 3 feet tall in full sun or up to 6 feet tall in partial shade, this plant is native not only to Texas but to Arizona and New Mexico as well.  It prefers relatively dry, partially shaded areas such as woodland edges and open prairies, and in Mexico is also known by the common name Chimalacate.  



Goldeneye

The mid to late fall blooms of Goldeneye not only provide seasonal color, but provide for native wildlife as well.  Goldeneye is a larval food plant for both the Bordered Patch and Cassius Blue butterflies, and if spent flower stalks are left to stand through most of the winter, they will provide good seed forage for Lesser Goldfinches and other birds.  Infusions of this plant are still used today as an antibacterial treatment for baby rash.  


Often called Creeping-oxeye or Hairy Wedelia, Zexmenia is a small shrub 8 inches to 2.5 feet tall, that blooms continuously from May to November, although often most profusely once the weather has cooled.  The woody stems and rough-hairy green foliage give rise to showy, 1 inch wide butterscotch-orange flowers on long stems that extend vertically above the pointy-lobed leaves. Hardy, long-lived, long-blooming, and non-aggressive, this drought-tolerant plant appreciates full sun and dry, well-drained soils.  It is another host plant for the Bordered Patch butterfly, a nectar source for many species of butterflies, and its seeds are a favorite food of bobwhite quail.

Zexmenia

Prairie Goldenrod, also called Gray Goldenrod or Field Goldenrod, is a slender-stemmed plant 1.5 to 2 feet tall, that blooms from June through October.  A member of the aster family, it has thin, coarsely-toothed leaves and yellow flowers that are borne on the upper side of hairy stalks, arching out and downward to create a vase-shaped flower cluster.  Individual plants bloom at various times, extending the flowering season, but they are most noticeable in fall, especially when paired with purple Gayfeather and red Autumn Sage.  An excellent addition to a wildflower meadow or a sunny garden, Prairie Goldenrod is naturally found in dry, open woods and upland prairies, and does well in full sun to part shade. A carefree plant, it can become invasive if left alone, but is also easily controlled.  



Prairie Goldenrod

Of special value to bees and butterflies for its pollen and nectar, and to several species of finches for its seeds, Prairie Goldenrod was also used by Native Americans to treat jaundice and kidney disorders, and as a wash for burns and skin ulcers.  The Navajo burned the leaves as incense, and used the seeds for food.



As you wander along roadways and pathways this fall, admire these fields of gold that delight not only our senses, but provide a bountiful harvest for our wild neighbors as well!