Northern Saw-whet Owl

Our Smallest Owl

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Early Sunday morning my telephone rang and a neighbour told me that a small owl had just hit their window and it was on the ground 'shivering'.  I quickly made plans to go and rescue it but received another call soon afterwards telling me it had flown away.  That was good news.  That meant that the owl was probably just stunned and was recovering.

The owl shown above was another individual which appeared around houses looking for something to eat.  There were bird feeders there and the owl was watching for rodents or small birds as prey.  Northern Saw-whet Owls are strictly nocturnal.  Their main diet is rodents, shrews, voles, birds and insects. They forage close to the ground and spend their days roosting in thick evergreens.  

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Shown above is the actual bird that sparked the phone call.  It is an adult Northern Saw-whet.  Notice the small size, the white 'V' between its eyes, the fine white streaks on the forehead, the reddish brown vertical streaks on its breast and the spots on the sides.  This cute little owl is only 20 cm (8") long!

The Northern Saw-whet Owl inhabits a large area of North America from Alaska across all of southern Canada southward to southern US.  In winter some individuals migrate a short distance to more southerly climates within its range.  It is a permanent resident of New Brunswick.  It nests in abandoned woodpecker holes or natural cavities in trees.  The female incubates the eggs for 26-28 days and the male brings her food.  They vocalize only during the breeding season making a monotonous short repeated sound that sounds like a saw being filed or 'whetted'.  

Northern Saw-whet Owl [Internet Photo]

The only other owl species that might be seen here that one would confuse with this species is the Boreal Owl.  That is a much more northern species which is very rare here.  It is slightly larger but has white spots on its forehead rather than the streaks of the Saw-whet.  The juvenile Northern Saw-whets are very different looking.  They are dark brown overall with an orange breast and belly.  They show the white 'V' between the eyes, the same as the adult.

Northern Saw-whet Owl [Internet Photo]

Sometimes the winter brings hard times for these owls.  That is often the reason they are seen near human habitation.  They are desperate for food and hope for rodents or other food.  That makes them prone to injury (as in this case) from window or automobile strikes, predators,  or interference with humans.  Some of them are so tame or so starved that they allow humans to approach too closely.  It is best to back off and protect these little creatures at these crucial times.  With deep snows finding food is difficult and they are stressed from weather, starvation and being in close proximity to human habitation.