DEAR JOAN: We live about a mile from Mission San Jose, and sometimes I hear birds making a “hoo-hoo” call at around 1 or 2 a.m. We were wondering if the calls are being made by owls, doves or pigeons?

Lately, you may have heard them: “hoot” owls. No such critter named “hoot owl” appears in any field guide, but their calls earn them the moniker. The “hoo-hoo-hoo” kinds of calls belong to either ...

It’s 2 a.m. on Easter morning, and I’m awakened by "Hoo ho-hoo? Hoo hooo." The cadence is like, “Who’s awake? Me, too.” I open my window. The night is still. For certain, a great horned owl is calling ...

DEAR JOAN: We have lived in a quiet residential neighborhood very near downtown for 42 years. Yesterday, a murder of crows was making a terrible racket in our back garden. When we investigated there ...

Owls are more often heard than seen. In New York, there are eight species of these interesting raptors, with the majority most active at night. Some live here year-round, some are migratory. They ...