Have you ever seen a barred owl in the wild?

[Hyacinth]

Would you tell me about it? Did you go looking or just happen to see it? 

We have a couple barred owls nearby (we hear them nearly every day) and I’m kinda sorta obsessed with them 😁. Maybe it’s because of Owl Moon. Anyway, I want to try to see one of them. Am I crazy? Do you think it’s possible with a good pair of binoculars and some patience?

Edited June 16, 2020 by Hyacinth

[PeterPan]

I've *heard* some owls when going out for walks at night, but the only thing I've *seen* on those walks are skunks. 

Have you tried videos on youtube? Live cams?

[EKS]

Yes, we see them all the time around our house.  We live in the woods, and they will just fly by the windows.  I just saw one two days ago.  Sometimes you can see them perched as well, and for a while we had one that would attack cars driving down the street in the neighborhood.

[Innisfree]

We had one perch on a garden post in the backyard for several minutes one night: long enough for everyone to come out and see him. We stared at him, he stared at us, and swivelled his head around a bit, and eventually flew off.

I love Owl Moon. 

Editing to add that we hear them quite often. Seeing them is unusual enough to be exciting.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Innisfree

[JustEm]

We have one that just hangs out in our yard, the woods behind us, and in the neighbor's yard.  It had a baby this year so now there are two. the baby is smaller but still big

[happi duck]

I find owls impossible to spot!  Even when I know the exact tree!

one trick I heard was to search the ground for poop and owl pellets and then search above there.  It worked at least once for me.

good luck!

[happi duck]

 

[gardenmom5]

we were walking in a greenbelt area at dusk - and one flew low past us from behind.  they're utterly silent.

[catz]

We've seen them at times!  I'd go at sunset/slightly after or at sunrise.  That's when we are most likely to see owls.  ❤️  

[mom2scouts]

Yes, my oldest son lives on a wooded acre and he has one in his yard! He sent me a picture of it the other day after he saw it flying by with a squirrel.

[cintinative]

Yes. A few times. Once when we went out at night my husband was able to get one to fly near us by mimicking its call

[Sherry in OH]

We hear them almost every night.  I have seen them several times. Once one was perched relatively low in a tree near our property line.  He looked straight down at me with a rather disgruntled look.  More often I see them perched high in trees.  They are easier to spot in the winter when trees are bare.  

[Guest]

Yes. We had a pair I believe were nesting a couple of months ago and I was seeing them often and hearing them daily. But evidently, something may have destroyed the owlets. My yard was covered in downy feathers from a large bird (it could have been hawks, but it seems to have been owlets.) we have not seen the adult owls since. 

I will post a couple pictures later if I have an opportunity. I took video last year when one was perched on a tree right over my driveway. 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Quill

[Carrie12345]

I see owls pretty frequently, but I couldn’t tell you what kinds. I just sit outside at night and they sometimes fly above our backyard.  Lots more bats than owls, though!

[ScoutTN]

Yes, at a nearby park.

❤️ Owl Moon, Owl Babies and Owls in the Family

[purpleowl]

I've only seen one once - it was actually at the side of the road, close to our driveway. I thought it was injured at first, because it didn't fly away when we drove past, but it was gone when I came back out. I'm guessing it was just protecting whatever dinner it had just grabbed. 

[Arcadia]

Only at national parks and refuges

https://www.nps.gov/articles/barred-owls-marin-county.htm

“Barred owls (Strix varia) recently expanded into the forest communities of Marin County and may be negatively impacting the federally threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina).

The barred owl is an eastern species that has expanded its range westward into the Pacific Northwest and more recently southward into California. Barred owls and spotted owls are closely related and have considerable overlap in diet and habitat. However, barred owls are slightly larger, more aggressive, and eat a wider range of prey items than spotted owls; these advantages may allow them to displace spotted owls from preferred habitat. In addition, spotted owls may become less vocal in the presence of barred owls, affecting their territoriality and mating behavior. Researchers in Oregon, Washington, and parts of northern California have found that barred owls negatively impact spotted owl reproduction and survival.”

[Lady Florida.]

They're pretty common here. They're one of Central Florida's most common birds of prey and are quite territorial. We had one that lived somewhere near our old house and would hear it often at night. We've even seen it a a few times. When our dog was still too young to go all night without doing his business (though he was trained enough to wake someone up), whichever one of us took him out would sometimes see the owl sitting on the top of ds' play fort. It was usually ds since the dog slept with him but once in a while it would be dh or me, and sometimes one of us would see the owl. The first time it happened ds was 8 and woke us both up to insist we go outside and see it. Of course it was gone by the time we all trekked out to the yard but then we knew to look for it anytime we took the dog out at night.

I love their call - Who cooks for yooouuu!

[Hyacinth]

Thanks, everyone! I’m determined to find him. It’s on my bucket list. Will keep y’all posted! 

[Hyacinth]

6 hours ago, hjffkj said:

We have one that just hangs out in our yard, the woods behind us, and in the neighbor's yard.  It had a baby this year so now there are two. the baby is smaller but still big

That. Is. Awesome. 

[Hyacinth]

5 hours ago, happi duck said:

I find owls impossible to spot!  Even when I know the exact tree!

one trick I heard was to search the ground for poop and owl pellets and then search above there.  It worked at least once for me.

good luck!

Yes! That’s what dh suggested, too! 

[TravelingChris]

A lot of times since we moved to Alabama.  They are common and one of the owls that are commonly seen in the day.  A few years ago, we saw a parent and owlings too.  All in the daytime, not even dusk or dawn.

[Innisfree]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

❤️ Owl Moon, Owl Babies and Owls in the Family

Yes!  This thread is making me all nostalgic. Dd17 went through an owl-loving phase as a toddler and preschooler. Owl Babies was another favorite. We can still quote Sarah, and Percy, and Bill.

[cintinative]

3 hours ago, Hyacinth said:

Thanks, everyone! I’m determined to find him. It’s on my bucket list. Will keep y’all posted! 

If you know there is one in the area you can try to play the call and attract them. There are recordings online on all about birds and other sites.

Edited June 17, 2020 by cintinative

[Rachel]

I’ve not seen one but I have definitely heard a pair. A couple weeks ago I took my kids on their very first backpacking trip. My two boys slept just fine but my daughter was nervous and had trouble sleeping. She woke me what felt like every 10 minutes. I was laying there awake after the most recent disturbance and heard the “Who cooks for you call” nearby, then heard a response off in the distance. Then a minute later heard it again closer. It was really neat. Then suddenly the two birds came rushing through our campsite and seemed to land in the same place very nearby. They made this most awful sounding monkey sound several times over what felt like an hour but was probably a minute. My 7 year old sat up during the middle of it and sleepily told me, “I do NOT like that sound”.  My daughter didn’t sleep much at all after that while my 12 year old slept through it all. 😆 We think it may have been some sort of mating ritual but aren’t certain. 
 

Now my 7 year old keeps talking about wanting to see more monkey owls. 

We had a great horned owl that would come to a tree in our yard for 3 winters in a row but he didn’t show up this year. We think our yard was just part of his territory, he was really impressive.