What is Superb Owl Sunday? It is a day to celebrate owls while others are immersed in football. Some go on hikes, trips to the zoo, or a wildlife refuge where owls have been known to be. Here is one kind of owl I saw recently: the barred owl.
Superb Owl Sunday
We have experienced a few minor snow storms to date that have only left a few inches of the the fluffy white stuff. This was after one of these storms. This owl did not look too happy about it.
Superb Owl Sunday
It was a dark and dreary day after the snow fall. When I took the above picture it was from an angle with less light. This the the first time I have seen a barred owl sitting parked in a tree hole. I have seen the owlets do this, but not an adult. The parent will stay inside the hole in side the tree when there are eggs and when there are owlets not ready to fledge. I have only seen the owlets at the hole just prior to fledging.
If you were not into the Super Bowl I hope you were able to get out an enjoy something else like the Superb Owl Sunday.
I usually only see owls deep in the woods and not in open areas. This is a barred owl. I was lucky enough to take a lot of pictures of it in a short time period from the road.
Barred Owl January 2025– Short rest on the power lines
It was on private property. One of the local home owners said they see the owl on their property daily. It rested its eyes on the power lines for a short time. Sometimes they do that to fool the animals in the woods.
Barred Owl January 2025- unsuccessful hunt in the grass
It moved to different perches and was actively hunting while I was there. Two or three different times I saw it move from a perch to swoop down in the grass. It was unsuccessful each time. It was great seeing an owl out in the open, despite it being a dark and dreary day.
Barred Owl January 2025 – hunting from a perch
Off to another perch. I was very happy to come across this owl. A local had mentioned she had seen one here a few times when she passed by, so I checked it out. It is farther away than the two families I followed this summer, so I am sure they are not related.
Stay safe! Stay warm! Have a great rest of your week!
I found two barred owl families this spring/ summer. The first family had three owlets and they were making the hissing like noise they make when hungry while inside the tree. This second family, in another location, had one owlet.
Barred Owl Family Number 2- most likely the mom
The first family had a great horned owl family come into its territory. Either the parents moved the owlets farther away onto private land, or the great horned owls got them, which they will do. I saw the second family’s baby for several days, then saw it no longer. To be fair, it was very close to private land when I saw it. Owls will have the baby move around, although it seems no further than about a 1/4 of a mile from the nest, when it is still relying on parents for food. I am hoping the story on this one is they moved to private land.
Barred Owl Family Number 2– they had one owlet
The parents are savvy and hide in the shade. The owlet seems to relish the light from the sun. Enjoy your week!
Spectacled owls range from Mexico down into South America. I doubt I will ever get to see one in those locations, but I was able to view this owl and others through a group that puts on educational shows.
Juvenile Spectacled Owl
Spectacled Owls – Juvenile
This is a juvenile spectacled owl. They have different colouring than adults. Their head is more white, while the adults’ head feathers are more a darker brown.
Spectacled Owls – Juvenile
Adult Spectacled Owl
Spectacled Owls – Adult
How did they get their name?
I do not have a head on shot of the adult. It has white markings around its eyes that make it look like it is wearing glasses. One of their calls is a tapping sound, and they are also known as a knocking owl. The knocking like sound has also resulted in it being named the coffin maker in some places as the sound is likened to someone pounding nails into a coffin.
This was a treat! I was able to see from a short distance owls, some of which are not in the area I live in. I saw a show by a different group 1-2 years ago where they were against photos being taken and were anti anyone with a nice camera. It was nice to see this group was not like that. No flashes were used. Have a great weekend.
These are two of the three fledglings from the same tree hole in May. This appears to be the day these two left the nest hole. The third was still in the hole and was quite loud.
Owl Fledglings 2024
The two out of the tree hole looked so small for barred owls it was confusing. It did not help they fledged during a dark day where it was raining hard. This is why they look drenched. The one pictured above is on a tree branch on the ground. I called a friend and she came. To not upset the apple cart with the parents, who had to be nearby, we left the baby on the ground in hopes that it would climb a nearby tree. It looked exhausted.
Owl Fledglings 2024 I manipulated this dark photo a lot to try to get it sharper and with less noise.
This is the second fledged owlet. It was on a tree maybe ten feet off the ground. This is the last time I saw the owlets from this tree. I did see the parents hunting nearby several times, so I am thinking they were there somewhere. This year though the screech of the babies asking for food was absent. I have always heard that in the past. This year I only heard the screeching coming while they were inside the tree hole or at the hole. Hopefully the great horned owls coming on their territory did not result in the barred owlets being killed. I am hoping they moved them safely to another area.
I have heard crows complaining on hikes. Sometimes it is good to check it out as it might be a bird of prey that are fussing about. Surprise! A great horned juvenile was there.
Surprise! A Great Horned Juvenile
I knew it was a great horned, but a friend messaged me it was a juvenile after I took a picture with my phone of the back of my camera. It is still fuzzy on the head and the ears are not quite like an adult’s ears yet.
Surprise! A Great Horned Juvenile – mobbed by crows
It was unexpected for a few reasons, but I was happy to spot it. It was dark in this part of the woods and it was before sunset, so I could not increase the shutter speed, hence the crows are blurred a bit. This is the first time I have seen a juvenile great horned owl after it fledged. Expect the unexpected.
These are an unexpected find. It is an unexpected location for many reasons that I cannot go into detail about.
Unexpected Owlets screaming for parents and most likely food
The weather has been absolutely horrid. Very cloudy most of the time it seems, so it makes for very dark conditions amongst a group of trees. The photo at the bottom I actually got caught in a passing rain storm.
Unexpected Owlets – Two in the hole
I actually heard the sounds days before I saw them at the tree hole. The first few days they did not appear at the tree hole. I walked on all sides of this tree and the sound appeared to come from the other side of the tree no matter what side of the tree I was on. I concluded it had to be inside the tree. I even had a friend listen to a video of the sound to confirm it was an owlet. I never heard them make these sounds inside the tree hole, only after they ventured out of the hole. Then I saw one on a different day appear at the hole. On another day I saw two heads. It almost appeared the one would push the other out.
Unexpected Owlets- It was raining and I had to leave.
All of these photos, but especially the one on the bottom are taken in very low light conditions at a high ISO. Even in a location you would never think an owl would nest, they might. Enjoy the rest of your week!
The barred owl has a facial disk. The disk is composed of feathers that grow around the owl’s head. These feathers help make the bared owl a skilled hunter. These feathers they say help direct sound to the bird’s ears. They say it is the same effect as cupping your hands behind your ears. The disk feathers allow them to hear the movement of a mouse in the grass, the flapping of feathers in the night, or the slithering of a snake in a tree or on the ground.
Barred Owl Open and Shut- In a brief window of light from the setting sunBarred Owl Open and Shut- Cloudy
The hunter becomes the hunted in the Pacific Northwest. The government wants to cull barred owls. The barred owl is being blamed for the decrease in population of the spotted owl. The barred is more indigenous to the east coast, but has been moving over the the Pacific Northwest. Therefore, the US Fish and Wildlife wants people to kill 500,000 of them. It is very controversial as it will eliminate a species in one area to save another. What do you think?
This pair has been in and out of public land at one of the many places I hike. It has mostly been outside of public land past two years. Too many things have happened and continue to happen that keep them on private lands. Tonight the pair crossed the border into public land.
The Barred are Back!
I actually saw one of them on Sunday morning. I was looking at another bird and the owl made one of the many sounds a barred owl makes. Turns out it was in a neighbouring tree. I would like to think it was saying hi!
The Barred are Back!
I have not heard any of the usual telltale signs they are near in the past several months such as the complaining of robins, bluejays, chipmunks, etc. Birds complain when a hawk or owl is nearby. Tonight was the first time I heard the signs, but it was well after I saw it.
The Barred are Back!
The pictures above and below are at sunset. It actually caught something on the ground and carried it to a neighbouring tree to its mate. The mate ate a little then carried it off towards private land. I think they will only be occasional opportunities on the fly to see them again this year.
The Barred are Back! It caught something on the ground right after this picture.
I hope I see them again in the future. This was unexpected, but great nonetheless.
These pictures were taken recently in what may have been the short-eared owls last day here. A big event happened and that may have driven them back up north to Canada. The season started out with not much luck for me, but ended with a bang.
Short-Eared Grand Finale- Sat on a post and lingered for a while
I did not have much luck until sometime around mid-February and had more luck after the time change. On weekends in winter the place is mobbed and the behaviour of some of the photographers I believe keeps them far away from where we are allowed to stand. I say some, not all. Most respect the rules of the location and the animals. The short-eared owls usually leave sometime in March, but they stayed until past mid-April. People were hoping they were going to stay year round. (I went to another location yesterday and I was told it was a great year for short-eared owl viewing there as well).
Short-Eared Grand Finale- They seem to stretch themselves out like this before they fly. Light changed while it was lingering here.
One owl would land on trees, various posts and do close fly-bys. I among others believe it was the same owl every time. When I say close fly-bys I mean within 5-10 feet of you. I hope the same owl returns next year. Otherwise, I enjoyed it while it lasted mid-February through mid-April. Seeing an owl close up was not a daily occurrence. Sometimes it would come up to a nearby post or do fly-bys when there was low light. If the conditions were not right you would not see them close or at all.
Short-Eared Grand Finale- Take off from the post
One thing I learned and it seems to be true is the short-eared owls do not like wind over 10 miles and hour. It was rare to see them fly when the wind was above 10 mph. I believe on this night it was not promising, but a cloudy day changed into one with no clouds at the horizon and it made for good light after 6. The winds also died down. Right around the time for these two events we started to see them pop up and fly.
Get out and enjoy the wildlife that reside in your state! Have a great rest of your week!
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