Saw-whet Owl; Northern Saw-whet Owl; Acadian Owl (Nyctala acadlca) | Affiliated Manuscripts | Further Data

Occurrence in Amherst & Connecticut Valley, Mass.

C19

Very rare visitor

October

C20

Mainly a transient or winter visitor, most often recorded in the late autumn and in March, but also found breeding, at least in the hill country. It has almost never been seen or heard between late May, when the young leave the nest-hole, and mid-October, when migrants begin to arrive; and at any time can only be noted with good luck. —Bagg & Eliot

October - April

C21

Resident; though the saw-whet owl is considered to be a resident in Massachusetts, there is evidence of much shifting within the extensive breeding range from October through December; there is also evidence of a return from March to May. —Mass Audubon

January - December

Habitat

coniferous woodlands, evergreen thickets, isolated pines

Nest Materials

previously excavated holes, often of Flickers or Pileated Woodpeckers, in dead snags

19th-20th Century Field Notes

SAW - WHET OWL . Above , purplish - brown , marked with white ; beneath , white , marked with tawny . Length , 6 - 8 inches . One instance . Amherst , Oct . , 1886 . Now in Mr . C . R . Ken field ' s collection .

—H.L. Clark, 1887

21st Century Conservation Notes

Least concern*