Photo by Ryan Humphrey [Facebook]
Saw Whet Owlets are probably the most fun and animated baby owls I’ve ever watched. Took them months to stop the major head bobbing and body dances. It could be early morning, mid afternoon, or evening, and they would be moving around, preening, stretching, head bobbing, and doing the twist. These babies do not sleep all day long as many Adult Saw Whets do. They would snooze for an hour or so and then become alert again.
Say What?
I don’t know if we’ve covered why it’s called a Saw Whet or not. It’s said to be that its call sounds similar to the sound of the lumberjacks sharpening their saw blades in the forests where these owls come from.
Whet means to sharpen. So this is the owl that sounds like it’s sharpening a saw.
This is the most appropriate saw sharpening sound I could find. Way back when, I’m sure they were using much larger saws, so the pitch would be different, but this seems close enough.
YouTube: Saw Whet Owl Call
YouTube: Saw Sharpening