Owls anyone?

[scarlet_owl]

I haven't seen any in my neighborhood, as there are no large trees, but I have seen great horned owls and screech owls in the woods near my home. There was a great horned being mobbed by crows in my dad's backyard a few years ago, and that was my first ever sighting of an owl. Ever since then they have been my favorite birds. What kind are common in your area?

[blindpig]

1. Barred Owls

I've lived in the "sticks" for about 3 years now and Barred Owls are by far the most common around here. The first year or so I had many excellent sightings. On one occasion I was allowed to get a nice full frame shot. Another time, on a rainy early spring morning I saw a barred perched in an oak about 25' off the ground. It would go to ground and hop around in the driving rain like it was trying to catch something small. Did this several times. I couldn't see anything because of low light and the hard rain. I suspect It may have been going after newly emerged upland chorus frogs which I have found in that spot in the spring and fall. I've also been treated to several choruses of barred owls, undoubtedly one of the most insane sounds to come out of the North American woods. For reasons beyond my ken the barreds have been pretty uncommon these past 18mos.

Have had a few Great Horned sightings and one Screech.

[Minimus]

2. I have a few great horned owl I think.

I have actually spotted one on several occasions. It frequents a tree in the woods behind my house.

The reason I think there are more is because sometimes I will hear one start the who-hoo and then another will seem to answer, and then another. This will go on half the night. One of my dogs was afraid of the noise and hated to go outside while it was happening.

They winter nest and lay eggs in NC in Dec and Jan so I am hoping for more. I love to hear them.

I "saved" a baby owl once. My Aunt called one morning saying there was something clinging/caught on her screen window and it had been making noise all night. She was elderly and unable to get around good, she thought it was a cat and she was worried sick. (Rest in Peace, Aunt R. - One the all time greatest animal lovers).

I went to her house and it was a baby owl. It was sooo cute. Talons were hung in the screen. I put on gloves, got it unhung from the screen, and set it down in a paper bag. I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't know if it was learning to fly/hunt and if it's mother would come back. I was afraid to leave it because I didn't want a dog or something to get it.

I called the Zoo (we have a well-known one in NC) and they referred me to a lady who does Raptor Rescue/Rehab. I called, she agreed to take it. My Mom drove (she lived about an hour away) and I sat with the brown paper bag on the floor at my feet. I would look in every once in a while and it would look at me with it's big eyes. It was just the cutest thing. The rehab lady had a big set-up for birds. She said she would care for it and let be around other owls so it could learn, then it would be released back into the wild.

I've often wondered if it's mommy missed it. It was a tough decision to take it out of my Aunt's yard. I hope I did the right thing.

[scarlet_owl]

6. I love baby owls! They are adorable!

[semillama]

3. Owls are a toughie for me

for some reason. I have never seen one while birding on my own, all the ones I've seen have been pointed out to me or I've been directed to.

I'm hoping to make a trip to Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Ohio soon to rectify that, though.

It's funny. I've seen Great Gray but not Great Horned Owls. Isn't that weird?

[LWolf]

4. We have plenty of Barn owls and great horned owls.

I used to site burrowing owls frequently, but they are disappearing as ramapant development paves over the desert. I still see them every once in awhile on the fringes, when I'm out walking or riding away from town.

There are barn owls who roost in the barn and nest in an abandoned silo at the ranch I keep my horses at.

[amazona]

5. a neighbor saw Great Horned Owl...

...sitting on the stop sign at the entrance to the neighborhood every morning at around 4:30 or so when he went to work. I never saw it though.

A friend of mine seeks out Great Horned Owl nests and photographs them, so I have visited to see the babies. Cute!

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[scarlet_owl]

7. That is so cool!

[StClone]

8. Crazy year for Owls in Minnesota

Though it can me unbearably cold (-20 to -40, northern Minnesota has an invasion of Great Gray, N. Hawk and Boreal Owls that has birders scrambling to see. A news report (ABC?) on the five-thirty news Thursday (tomorrow) will report on the influx. You can see over two dozen owls in a day of up to four or more species three of which are rarities.

[scarlet_owl]

9. Wow!

[OnionPatch]

10. Owls are some of my favorite birds

But I have not actually seen very many of them.

I like to identify birds by their sounds, though, so I have heard very many owls. Our property in southern CA is against a wooded park and I hear great-horned owls nightly, screech owls regularly and occassionally I hear a barn owl. Back east I used to hear barred owls. They sound so wild when they get fired up!

The only owl I have actually seen was a pygmy owl. We were sitting out on our deck one night and my husband noticed one sitting only a few feet away in the branches of a tree! What a cutie-pie it was.

[Stepup2]

11. Barred owls

I have a pair of barred owls that raise babies here early each spring. I was able to watch two fledge last year, I made excuses to be late a few days so I could watch them as they did their first few solos.

I occasionally hear a GHO, but have not caught a glimse. I hear it often enough, that I wondered how the Barred work out the territory.