We were recently surprised by a visit from a Barred Owl who hung out in our yard and took a six-hour nap! It was so incredible to see them up close. Even though it was just under 40 degrees out, I was able to shuffle closer to the owl outside and sit on a bucket to take photos for an hour. I talked to them and was shocked they didn't leave.
I love sharing Community Center happenings and was delighted by this visitation!
Barred Owl Factoids:
- Their hooting call is said to sound like "Who cooks for you?"
- The Great Horned Owl is the most serious predatory threat to a Barred Owl.
- Barred Owl fossils at least 11,000 years old have been found in Florida, Tennessee, and Ontario.
- They don't migrate.
- Apparently, Barred Owls have recently expanded into the Pacific Northwest, displacing and hybridizing with Spotted Owls, which are already threatened from habitat loss.
- Young Barred Owls climb trees using bill and talons, flapping their wings to "walk" up the trunk.
- The oldest recorded Barred Owl was at least 26 years old.
Birds facts from AllAboutBirds.com
I was working in my office when the birds outside made a huge commotion. Sometimes a cat will come through the yard, so I thought someone was in trouble and went out to investigate. To my surprise and awe, the owl sat in a neighbor's tree surrounded by my Scrub Jay and Stellar's Jay friends. The owl flew towards me and landed in a tree in our yard while I raced around my house looking for the camera or my phone. I scrambled back in time for them to fly to the next tree in our yard, where they sat for six hours, watching birds and squirrels, napping, listening to me, and cleaning themself.
I don't know how many is too many photos to take of a sleeping owl, but they were too stunningly gorgeous not to....
While I was hanging out with the owl, I was joined by a few other friends:
Hooty Hoo!!
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