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.

In my neck of the woods, I often  hear and/or see Great Horned Owls and Barn Owls. If I am lucky, I can check off both, as I did a couple of days ago. Western Screech Owls and Burrowing Owls are less common sights for me. I spotted a Burrowing Owl only one time. My most spectacular sighting to date was of the young female Snowy Owl that visited a Cypress, California, neighborhood in December 2022-January 2023. For Southern California, it was the first Snowy Owl to visit in over a century. Just as amazing to me was the large crowd of onlookers who were very respectful of both the owl and neighborhood. There is a 30-minute video “SoCal Snowy Owl” of the event on PBS (expires 10/1/2025).

I have a barred owl I see often in my back yard!

I saw a Saw-Whet Owl when I lived up in Wisconsin. Haven't really seen many since I moved to Kentucky but I hear them regularly.

A memorable sighting was three Spectacled Owls (one adult, two juvenile) in Costa Rica on a VENT tour several years ago.  And I'm lucky to be a volunteer at The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota where I see our education ambassador owls each week -- Barred, Eastern Screech, Barn, Great Horned, Northern Saw-Whet.

I was so surprised to see this Barred Owl outside where I lay my head first thing after I got up. Absolutely beautiful. I had been listening to their evening serenades for years but was never so lucky as to glimpse one. After six years, there it was. Stared right at me, not afraid in the slightest. It's like it finally came to say, "Hi! Here I am! Hello!"

 

After a while, some crows came by to mob  the poor thing but luckily it took cover in a nearby tree. It will always be such a magical moment for me. Especially after watching the Barred Owls on Cornell's cams for years. 

There is a pair of Western Screech-Owls that visits our yard occasionally. It's so fun to hear them calling to each other! One has flown right by my head a couple of times while I was standing on the balcony in the backyard.



There is also a pair of Great-Horned Owls that nests in a neighborhood nearby. They're very fun to check up on 🦉

I saw a Snowy Owl in the wild in Kaktovik, Alaska. It was magnificent perched on a snow fence, although it was in August.

The only owl I have seen (with my birding partner husband) is a Snowy Owl. Which, after reading about Snowy Owls in the additional reading and watching the video, I can say that this more more than special.  We actually saw 2 Snowy Owls over 2 days, 12/28/21 and 01/06/22 at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Newport County, Rhode Island USA. On the first day we saw only one sitting on the rocks in the ocean; on the second day we saw two Snowy Owls in trees far from each other, but able to view both at same time. We have been back is subsequent years but have not seen another Snowy Owl since.  Photo taken by my husband, Ken Bastura on 12/28/21.