What u see

What u see. Want to see an Eastern screech owl?  Of course you do…

                                                

                                                        “I’m so tired after hunting all night!”

                                                       “Okay, so what do you want, anyway?”

                                    “Sorry, I have to rest up for tonight’s hunt.  See you later…”

The real beauty of this owl is that it was roosting for the day in a red-cockaded woodpecker hole.  Yep, in one of those white ringed longleaf pines along the Upland Discovery Trail on the refuge.  A visitor excitedly reported it to us in the VC this afternoon, and Kathy and I wasted no time getting out there to see it.  The red-cockaded woodpecker is not only an endangered species, but also a ‘keystone’ species.  That means that its homes are used by more than just their species.  This was a great example of how important they are to the entire ecosystem.  Cool beans!  (Sorry, sometimes I just have to add subtitles even though I know it’s anthropomorphism.)