Sunday evening, March 25, found a large group of Macnamarans wandering around in the dark searching for owls in the Arnprior-Pakenham area.

With the help of our leader, Michael Runtz, and his amazing ability to sound like various owls, we were able to see them at close range.  Near Stewartville, we met two noisy Barred Owls who flew over and around us, hooted back and forth to each other, responded to Michael, and sat in nearby trees while we all had a good look at them.

Along the way to Pakenham, we stopped a few times to search for Northern Saw-whet Owls and were rewarded when a pair of them came over in response to Michael’s calls.  These small, curious birds were a big hit as they flitted about and sat close by, bobbing their heads while they were being admired by our enchanted group.

Moving on to Pakenham we searched for Eastern Screech-owls.  Although they responded to calls, they were not to be seen that night.  We knew they were there though and maybe next year they’ll come closer for a visit.

It was a perfect evening with owls.