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Saw Whet Owls
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Right now, tiny owls are flying through Massachusetts in the dark. Northern saw-whet owls. About the size of a robin.
And light. Around 3 ounces. By day they sit dead still in thick evergreens.
Walk right up and one often won't budge. People call them tame. They're not. Holding still is how they hide.
At night they hunt mice by sound. Their ears are lopsided, one higher than the other.
So scientists play the owl's own song: toot, toot, toot. Curious owls fly into soft nets, get a tiny leg band, and go free.
One fall, Massachusetts banders caught more than 1,100.
People used to think they were rare here. Then a science fair project showed they're the most common owl in Massachusetts in the fall.
Follow the songbird racket.
On a walk through thick pines or hemlocks this fall, listen for small songbirds scolding at one spot. That fuss is one of the best ways to find a hidden saw-whet. Give it space.
Data: Mass Audubon (2019), Cornell Lab of Ornithology (2026), Project Owlnet and Bird Observer (2009).