Perhaps less known is that owls also are breeding and nesting now and into spring. Screech owls, a small owl only reaching about ten inches in height, are cavity nesters, which means that they need to find large, deep holes in trees for nest building.

Such cavity nests are more difficult to find than eagle nests since eagle nests are built high in trees and are up to seven feet across and five feet deep. Screech owls come in two phases or colors: gray and reddish.

Other local owls, such as the barred and great horned owls, use second-hand nests built by other birds. Some nest in hollow trees.

Baby owls are called owlets. They can crack through their eggs even at below freezing temperatures. The adults’ thick feathers keep owlets toasty. The barred owls distinctive call, often described as saying — “who cooks, who cooks for me?” — is thrilling to hear in the dead of night.

PHOTO PROVIDED Shown is a screech owls’ red phase in this photo by Ritch Heintzelman. Owls are one type of bird that breeds during the winter months as opposed to during warmer weather.

The call of the great horned owl sounds more like the traditional hoots that we associate with owls, seeming to say “hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo.” Eight different owls have been documented in Pennsylvania, and each has its own unique call.

Since these two larger owls often nest in open nests high in trees, owlets can easily fall to the ground or their nests can be completely blown down by storms. Young owlets are just balls of fluff without developed wings and can’t fly. How might they survive on the ground?

They have been taught to walk toward a fallen tree or broken snag that is lying partially on the ground but also extending many feet into the air, maybe at a 45-degree angle. While they can’t fly, they can hike up the log to higher ground and thus be more protected from at least some predators. Then the parents continue to feed them on the snag until their adult feathers and flying capacity develop. Owls eat mostly voles, mice and other small rodents and often swallow them whole.

Ryder Park usually offers a winter owl event.

People are very unlikely to view owls during the day since they hunt at night. They also have better eye sight and hearing than humans.

The shape of their faces, which includes large disc-like feather patterns around each eye, is actually used to detect the subtle sounds of rodents — even under the snow.

Also specially evolved feathers on the edges of their wings allow them to fly silently by breaking up the turbulence in the air so prey can’t hear them coming.

Even in winter, much life is developing in spellbinding ways.