Guest Column/Highlands Hammock State Park
Dorothy L. Harris, Park Services Specialist
What’s Cookin’ In The Woods At Night?”
We can never be sure just what we’ll find, so we carry a field guide or two so we can identify the insects or amphibians we might discover.
It had been raining all week, the woods were flooded and we found all sorts of frogs.
Southern toads, Green tree frogs, Cuban tree frogs and even tiny Narrow-mouthed toads with their teensy, watermelon-like, blackish-gray bodies were out frolicking on this dark evening.
We were delighting over a crawdad that was scurrying across the roadway when we heard it behind us.
(Above) A bullfrog looks up from his swampy home.
Her big, dark eyes studied us in the dim light. The creamy tan feathers of its neck bore the tell-a-tale barring marks, while the chest feathers were a coloration of dark brown vertical stripes. Sure enough, we had disturbed the meal of a Barred Owl. It continued to vocalize every now and then, but otherwise seemed rather bored by our presence. We however, were in awe of the powerful talons on its feet and the way it rotated its head to capture hints of the slightest sounds.
Then it happened. As we ducked and cried out in surprise, another Barred Owl flew in overtop of us and landed in the tree next to its mate. “Whoa,” cried my daughter, “did you see that?” “I sure did,” I replied. They sat together for only a moment and then departed one after the other. We watched them as they spirited away on wings that made no sound.
As we returned to the campsite, I explained how owls have special edges on their wing feathers that enable them to fly without making any noise. This is why our second visitor was able to fly right over our heads without alerting us to his presence. We also discussed how their ears are under their feathers and by turning their heads, they are able to locate the precise location of where a sound comes from. Basically these are perfectly designed nocturnal hunting machines.
