Last Summer, we had a very famous Barred Owl family make their home at a nearby park. Local birders enjoyed great views of these very cooperative owls who seemed to be showing off for us! I only have time for a short post tonight, so I will fill this entry with photos of these beautiful birds!
The easiest way to find these birds were when they would call back and forth with a hissing sound. We found the two siblings pretty easily
Young Barred Owl
Young Barred Owl
A parent Owl eventually flew near the bog and gave the photographers a great opportunity.
Barred Owl parent
The next time I went with another friend, we found the young owls after an hour of searching!
The two young Owls
I took some video this day too. This one shows the Owl making its hissing call.
Listening to that is really making me itch for spring with the Red-eyed Vireo, Black-throated Green Warblers and Hermit Thrush singing in the background! This video shows both Owls together, with one getting very curious at the sound of my friend walking.
I returned again with a visiting friend and once again found both siblings.
Barred Owl
Barred Owl siblings
One of them decided to give us a show and stretched it’s wings, giving us great photo ops, even in the dark woods.
Barred Owl stretching
Barred Owl stretching
Barred Owl stretching
I also finally got a quick video of flight… well, a good enough video of one of the Owls flying off camera…
These Owls were such a pleasure to have. I hope they return this year so that I can spend more time with them. This time, I will set aside some days and actually stick around a bit more.