I recently got to see a snowy owl that visited the lakefront in Chicago. I have also seen a northern pygmy-owl in the forest in Oregon.

I have enjoyed many species of owls. Some include Barred Owls, Barn Owls, Great Horned Owls, Burrowing Owls, Northern and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, Short-eared Owls, and a recent Eastern Screech-owl. I love owls and get very happy when I see them.

Yes, I have primarily seen Great horned owls, and the app Merlin helped me determine that the owls that I hear hooting near my property in Oregon are likely these owls.  I also helped take a small screech owl to our local rehabilitation center many years ago.  Once it was recovered, I had the opportunity to be present at its release, this made quite an impression on me.  Also this last spring I saw for the first time burrowing owls near Malheur wildlife refuge in Eastern Oregon when on a birding trip.

We have two great horned owls visit our neighborhood from time to time.  Some nights you can hear them calling back and forth. (Channahon, Illinois).

I have enjoyed a number of encounters with Barred Owls which is so much fun because they don't fly away but stare back as interested in me as I am with them!

But I have had a pair of juvenile Great Horned owls begging almost all night long for 4 months now.  They must be eating to survive this long but are still begging, or calling mommy home. Interesting that they haven't left. It's getting cold and I haven't heard 1 of them for almost a week now.

I'm wondering if they can or will hunt in daylight?

I live in an area classified as a red maple swamp which they like.

I looked at live cameras

Saw a Snowy Owl on a cold winter New Years Eve night. Beautiful bird flying through foggy, snowy nights get. It was so magestic.

our local wildlife group has a great horned owl we have seen up close. once we saw a great gray owl, which was really special. we have heard great horned, barred owls, and the elf owl in saguaro lands.

We had an Eastern Screech owl at our camera feeder.  We have heard Barred owls and Great-Horned Owls, but haven't seen them.

I saw this owl in Yosemite National Park, in a tunnel. Everyone who walked by stared at it and took its photo, but it didn't fly away. My iPhone said it was a Spotted Owl.

Occasionally see, but frequently hear, one or two Barred Owls right around my house. A pair seems resident in some very tall trees up on a hill in our very green, tree-filled, neighborhood. They offer "who cooks for you" frequently, especially around 11:00p, and occasionally they talk, laugh or argue back and forth in a very amusing way. When I've seen one of them, it is after dark when they swoop into a closer tree or, once, first thing in the a.m. when one glided into the high-up crook of a very tall cedar tree in my back yard. We love these guys (or gals)!

I’ve been lucky to see Great Horned Owls both at my home in Bayport, New York and vacation house in upstate Plymouth, New York. In Bayport, briefly there was an adult in a tree in my front yard at dusk and 2 years ago there was an adult and 3 owlets in a nest/tree in the neighborhood. As for upstate, I came out of my house at just the right time as dusk was setting in. The adult flew very low across the open field into the tree line. Unfortunately, I don’t see them as often as they are heard.

Barn owl in upstate New York lower tier finger lakes - it is only seen at twilight in small open window at the top of the barn - difficult to see really and I call it the shy owl ; however I have never seen the owl fly - it only sits in the window ledge and then when darkness comes- that's it !

until I took this course I did not know that these owls are fast declining in Upstate New York and I would like to know why so perhaps the course should include this as a topic

It’s always a treat to spot an owl. I have been able to see Burrowing owls(Idaho), Barn owls(Idaho), Great Horned owls(Utah), a Northern Hawk owl(Utah) and a few other species I couldn’t identify.

I haven't seen many owls outside of Bird shows at a Renaissance faire; however, very recently, I heard a Great Horned Owl in rural Texas. Unfortunately, I didn't catch a good glimpse, but its hooting was unmistakable!

Hello, I live in rural Utah and this year I've been fortunate to have two Great Horned owls in my yard and the fields around my house. They seem to call back and forth to each other and hearing the two together, I think they are a male and female. I love that they are nearby helping control the rodent population!

Yes, I have seen the Western Screech, Eastern Screech, Great Gray, Great Horned, Snowy Owl and the Barred Owl. The Western Screech was in the evening in a tree behind our camp. Was seen along a spot of the Middle Fork Salamon River in Idaho. The Great Gray was a cool sight to see. I was on a wildlife safari tour in the Tetons. The guide had asked what bird I wanted to see, and I said the Great Gray owl. We went into a preserve area, and a Great Gray flew in front of the vehicle and perched on a tree. We had the opportunity to view the Great Gray for a little bit. The Barred Owl I was able to see at a state park in Indiana and was able to listen to it call out " Who cooks for you."   The Eastern screech I have not seen but have only heard it. Great Horned I have seen at my work sitting on high tension tower and the cell tower. I have heard it call and heard the various calls it has called out.  It is a treat to hear the Great Horned and has been a topic of discussion with my co-workers. The Snowy Owl has been on my bucket list for some time and finally in 2025 a road trip to Rudyard, MI, I finally checked the Snowy Owl off my list. Was able to see three of them one on a barn roof, another in the top of a pine tree and the last one on a utility pole top. Soon I hope to get to see the Saw Whet Owl during owl banding this month October 2025. I hope to add to my owl list My home is in South Bend, IN.

I have heard both the barred owl and great horned owl, but have never spotted one.  I got into birding about 6 months ago and owls are really fascinating to me.  I've been listening and looking for them since I started birding.  Hope to actually see one at some point.

Howdy! I am from Brooklyn, New York, and I have been fortunate enough to have seen some wild owls in New York City. Perhaps the most memorable moment was back in 2022, where I saw a Barred Owl in Central Park and a Great Horned Owl around my area on the same weekend. The latter find was even more memorable, as a group of Blue Jays was mobbing the owl.

Hello! I live in Australia. While I was studying biology I had the opportunity to assist a friend with their Honours/PhD that focused on the largest species of owl in Australia, the Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) which inhabits the south-east of the country, competing with some of the most urbanised areas of the nation, and therefore affecting their survival. The research involved monitoring the distribution of the species by attaching a tracking device. This required setting up a large net across the tree canopy and broadcasting a playback call. Often, we were left sitting in the dark! We could hear the breeding pair responding in the distance, but eventually flying away. On two occasions I was lucky to be present when a Powerful Owl arrived and was successfully caught. Minimal tests were performed (acknowledging this is a stressful scenario for any wild animal) and then released back into the wild.



The photo shows my most recent sighting of a pair of Powerful Owls (very well camouflaged!) roosting in the Brisbane Ranges National Park in May this year. If you are lucky to see these beauties, it is common they will be hanging on to some food during the day. In this case a Common Ringtail Possum was on the menu.

I have also encountered the beautiful Eastern Barn Owl  (Tyto alba) on numerous occasions. In my experience, the owl that I have heard the most is the Southern Boobook (Ninox boobook). The funniest species to hear at night has to be the Barking Owl (Ninox connivens) which actually sounds like a little dog! Highly recommend listening to the audio via Birds of the World!

While participating in the Christmas Bird Count, we identified a pair of Great Horned Owls who regularly frequent a particular set of trees in a mobile home park.  Also, while volunteering with a rescue organization, I frequently interacted with a Great Horned Owl permanent resident and rescued Eastern Screech Owls.  In addition, I frequently hear Barred Owls in the preserve behind my house, but have never seen them as they are too far in the preserve.

I saw a barn owl and a great horned owl on the same outing, located about 2-3 miles away from each other in Santa Clara County, CA in 2024.  It was a spectacular outing.  I went back a couple times to each location to show family members.

My name is Ever and I am 9 years old and I am doing this course with my Mom and yes! I am a homeschooler.  I saw a Great Horned Owl on our street and on our roof.  I've heard Great Horned Owls approximately every year and it's of course the HOO-HOO-HOO---HOOOO HOOOO!

I saw my first owl after becoming a Birder near the Cornell Ornithology lab in Ithaca. It was around 4 pm so I was not necessarily expecting to see anything too exciting. The path had nothing but American Robins on the way back from the pond through the woods. But suddenly I heard "Who cooks for you" and I knew I was in for a treat. I believe there were two Barred Owls as I heard another call close after but much further away in the other direction. We just stopped and listen for several more minutes until we heard the closer one again and I was able to spot it with my binoculars, perched on a branch. It was so beautiful but unfortunately only caught a glimpse before it flew off with gorgeous and HUGE wings. What a great experience and I can't wait to add more species of owls to my life list.