Video: Blue Jays Not Happy with Screech Owl

Jamaica Plain resident Kristin MacDougall was excited to see an owl in the wild for the first time ever on Monday. But the blue jays in her backyard were not as happy. "It was in the backyard at about 5:30 pm. I heard it after dark for the past few nights, but couldn't find it," said MacDougall. And then she saw it -- and got a great video of it -- with a few blue jays really not being happy about the screech owl who-whoing in an evergreen tree.

1,056 Views

Photos: Nesting Screech Owl in Arnold Arboretum

A nesting female screech owl has attracted many onlookers at the Arnold Arboretum during the past week or so. The female is nesting in a black locust tree on the Jamaica Plain side of the arboretum, along the main pathway near the three little ponds. On several occasions, the female has been joined by a male screech owl after the two exchanged mating calls around dusk. Many arboretum visitors have stopped to see why so many people -- among them amateur photographers and ornithologists armed with binoculars -- are staring up at the tree and have been happily surprised to learn about the nesting female. Many arboretum regulars have also remarked they have seen nesting screech owls in that particular black locust tree through the years. These pictures are courtesy of local photographer David Forsyth.

2,184 Views