The Screech Owl Companion

Hearing an owl hoot and seeing one in the wild is a bird-lover's dream. In fact, of the top ten birds people hope to see, three are owls. What many people don't know, however, is that the screech owl is North America's most common and widespread owl-and further, that by taking a few simple steps including building and siting a basic nest box, you can actually attract owls to live permanently your yard. Screech owls are the only species that are perfectly content to make their homes near humans and in backyards. ?In The Screech Owl Companion, Jim Wright and Scott Weston introduce screech owls, show how to distinguish them from other species, share fun lore and legend, and provide step-by-step instructions for making your yard screech ready. You'll learn how to build a nest box and install a simple nest cam that you can monitor from your cell phone to watch when owls move in, lay eggs, and hatch. AUTHORS: Jim Wright is a prize-winning writer and the author of "The Bird Watcher," a long-running column featured in New Jersey's The Record and USA Today. He has hosted screech owls in a backyard nest box, written about them since 2004, and observed them through a nestcam for a dozen breeding seasons. He is currently leading a grassroots campaign to ban the rat poisons that kill owls and other wildlife. He lives in Allendale, NJ. Scott Weston has been involved with birding and owling for over 35 years, going on predawn Audubon Christmas bird counts since he was 11. An accomplished photographer, Scott has contributed to local and national publications, including Cornell's All About Backyard Birds. He has a B.S. degree in fisheries and aquaculture from the University of Rhode Island. He has been working and publishing in this field for over 20 years with Salem State University. He lives in northern Massachusetts. SELLING POINTS: . Owls are cute, mysterious, and one of the most popular birds. This informative, fun, and quirky book will appeal to birders interested in learning more. Fun fact! They do not actually screech and their soing is pleasant to hear! It's just their name . Jim Wright is The author of "The Bird Watcher", a long-running column featured in USA Today. Scott Weston has been involved with birding and owling for over 35 years, and is an accomplished photographer who has contributed to local and national publications . Will apeal to gardeners looking to attract beneficial birds, readers of books like Owls of the Eastern Ice, and birders 150 photographs