Eastern Screech Owl

Anonymous Author

Collection: A Literary Field Guide to the Swamp, Book 5

August 2, 2026

Prompt:

Megascops asio

Biological Overview

Habitat
Meadows, grasslands, woodlands, shrublands, and savannahs

Diet
Insects, small rodents, sometimes bats, small birds, and other small animals

Role in Ecosystem
Carnivore and predator in the food chain.

Behavior
Hunts mostly by watching from a perch and then swooping down to take prey from the ground. Can locate prey by sound and sight.

Human Impact

Humans impact screech owl habitats in many ways involving construction, pollution, and climate change. The owls are losing their habitats and homes to construction. Pollution is also affecting climate change and harming their habitats. The eastern screech owl needs a regulated temperature in the areas they live in, so climate change is affecting where they live and causing them all to move. When the owls move somewhere new, they lose space which is a resource they need to survive.

Creative Exploration

Screaming owl,
It’s golden hour.
Going a little crazy,
Where’s my friends?
The hollowed oak is quiet now,
The woods are turning grey.
I’m calling to the amber light,
To bring back yesterday.
A tiny ghost in feathers,
With no one left to hear,
I’ll shiver in the shadows,
Until the stars appear.

Eli Woolard, Ivy Praete, Evelyn Ingram

Book 5

Is this your story? Log in to edit it.

Tags

Pee Dee/ Grand Strand

Anonymous Author

This fellow Communal Pen-er has chosen not to share their personal information by remaining anonymous. In Communal Pen workshops, sharing is always optional, as is sharing your name with your writings. We appreciate the courage it takes to share our stories, whether or not we add our names to them or not. If you feel that this is your writing and would like to add your name, leave a comment or contact our team directly at communalpen@coastal.edu. Thank you, and happy writing!