For the past few days there has been a constant whup whup whup whupwupwupping going on outside that is very loud. It's a boreal owl, a real cutie of an owl, trying to find a mate. He gets going, and as the night wears on he starts sounding more and more frustrated and the pitch of his calling increases. He'll start out low, slow and end up fast and frantic, with little throaty noises that make it sounds like he needs a drink of water.
I went outside with my little camera to record him. This is his calmer call. It is quite loud, and can be heard in the house. He seems to be in a tree about twenty feet across the yard.
They are very cute little owls, about the same size as screech owls and burrowing owls.
If you want to learn more about boreal owls, check these sites.
There are great horned owls here as well, and that's who is usually out hoo-hoo hooing this time of year. The nice thing about the great horned owl is that if you hoo hoo at them, they'll hoo hoo back. You might have to work on your owl voice, but try it, it's fun.
