The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › The Wonderful World of Owls › Who Is That Owl?
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I saw a barn owl nest in my backyard, but there were no eggs or owlets. there was one grown up though.
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One night I was crossing a campground in Southern New Zealand and noticed a little owl, no more than 6 inches tall sitting silently on a low fence a few feet away. I couldn't see well enough to know if it was full grown. It was an amazing sight to see!
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I have been divebombed twice while sleeping on the ground (no tent) by owls. Both times I did not know they were close by until I felt the whoosh of air from their wings. I was incredibly fortunate to have moved just as they were going to strike. I have long brown hair and I guess I looked tasty. It was in the evening, during the summer -- one time on top of a mountain and the other in the prairie around Denver.
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Hi I have been fortunate enough to see a real life snowy owl at the Portland Jet Port in Maine. While I do not have a professional camera I had binoculars and was able to see great detail of the owl. I could even she her turn her head as an airplane made a loud sound overhead. The wing span she had was amazing. I call it she because it seems, and I could be wrong that the males have a lot more white than striations on them. She was a good size. The other time I saw owls was in a very icy winter. The Barred owls were starving as they could not break through the ice pack to grab rodents to feed on. I saw one at dusk sitting in a tree by the side of the road. The next day I saw one in my neighborhood and I believe the same one then sat in a tree at the front of my house. They were amazing to see.
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Prudhoe Bay Alaska, snowy owl, out in the tundra during the day hours, wind blowing during a partial white out, looked like a big bird, thought it would be listed as such in the presentation. And an Owl protecting it's nest in a abandoned structure, can't say I know what specific species it was except that it was a owl, brown and white.
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In July, 2017 we had a young barred owl perch on a maple tree right in front of our kitchen window in Rochester, Minnesota. What a thrill. We often hear barred owl calls and know that there is a nest in our neighborhood, but that was the first and only time we actually saw one of the owls.
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You took an amazing picture. Thanks for sharing.
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Where I live in south central Ontario, I have seen Snowy, Great Horned & Barred owls. It is always a thrill when I can find a Snowy when they come down for the winter. This year we have had 3 Short Eared Owls at the airport though they are difficult to see as they stay a fair distance away. I have been searching for a Saw Whet and Eastern Screech Owl as they would be very fun to observe.
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Yes, I've seen an owl in real life. Years ago, I saw a barn owl in a high corner of a barn. Very recently, I heard what likely was a male and female barred owl calling each other, repeatedly - one hooting and one answering back. It was a great delight to those of us in my apartment community who were paying attention. I also sometimes hear one of them at night (at least did before it got very cold out). It is so loud, it must be in a very nearby tree. I once took an "Owl Prowl" class in the evening. We saw signs and I think we heard a great horned owl, but could not see it. One of my favorite owls is named Ralph - I think that's his name. Granted, he is no longer wild. He was out in a large cage at a nearby County Conservancy - an injured rescue but in a seemingly nice cage. I always say hi to him when visiting the area and he just looks at me with interest when I talk to him.
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Years ago when we lived in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, a saw-whet owl spent its days in a large holly bush across from the front door.... On Sunday we saw two snowy owls at the Parker River NWR, on Plum Island MA!
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I've seen a few barred owls in my neighborhood ( I live in Massachusetts) and sometimes hear Great-Horned Owls at night. Really love to hear them! Once when living in SC I saw a Snowy Owl at night sitting on a neighborhood street lamp. I could hardly believe it and but have never forgot it!
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I saw saw-whet owl in Brooklyn a few weeks ago. It was the first time I have seen an owl while birding. I hope I see more. He was magical.
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Two short-eared owls hunting in Delta, BC.
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How did you manage to capture the birds so clearly in focus while in flight? This is an incredible picture.
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Yes, we had a Snowy Owl down here in Southern KY on the 17th, A friend a posted a video of it flying of a bridge. So before sunset we went out to try to find it. We didn't find the snowy, but we did find a Great Horned Owl and a Eastern Screech Owl while driving. After dark we set out again to scan a area that was lit by powerful street lights, and On the way the way there, it was sitting on the side of the road watching traffic. We pulled over to make sure he wasn't injured, and it flew to a street sign.
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Love that great picture! Thanks for sharing.
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I've seen lots of barn owls, the most remarkable time being when one got tangled in a fishing line that had somehow gotten stuck in a tree on our farm. We cut it loose and took it to a rehabilitation place, but sadly its wing was dislocated and it had to be euthanized. I've also seen Great Horned Owls watching our chickens, and one when I was on a walk in the woods near my home. We almost always have a barn owl or even a family of them hanging around the farm, where we have an owl box in one of the open barns. My younger brother collects owl pellets and is going to sell them to a distributor once more schools are in session.
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Just gifted this class to myself for Pandemic Christmas! Have been learning about birds during COVID. A neighbor has heard an owl. I hope to hear and see one this winter. I live south of Boston.
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I live in Baltimore and I have only ever seen one barred owl in our city park. I hope this course will help me be able to spot them when I am on hikes in the surrounding area.
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While walking in an walnut orchard near our old house, we saw a Great Horned Owl family - male, female, and one owlet! In our new house, we hear (but have yet to see) Great Horned Owls and Western Screech Owls, and once saw Western Scrub Jays chase what appeared to be a Barn Owl out of a tree. Love learning more about these fascinating owls, all around the world!
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Greetings, I live and work in northeast Indiana adjacent to the Michigan border. I am lucky to have seen native species of owls in person - Barred owls and Screech owls. I have heard Great horned owls. A Barn owl and a Snowy owl are on the wish list. Working as a county naturalist, I recently salvaged a Long-eared owl that perished after being entangled in a livestock fence. That was the first time seeing this species but I don't count it since it was deceased. I am a butterfly nerd at heart but there is absolutely something magical about owls.
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I live in southern PA near the Mason-Dixon line. See owls? Not so much. But hear owls often, usually a Great Horned or Barred Owl at night from bedroom window. Love to hear them calling to each other when they are in the neighborhood. Another occasion was at a local environmental education center we stumbled upon a program featuring their ongoing study on saw whet owls. Happened to see one in the flesh when caught to be banded and released. Lastly, a few years ago, when down on the Delvarva Peninsula was made aware of a snowy owl sighting on the ocean beach in Delaware sitting on the beach. We were not alone in enjoying this unusual sighting and were joined by a number of birders. Just fascinating.
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I saw this young barred owl in the summertime at a wildlife refuge. This little babe was perched in a tree early in the morning.
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No that is why I am taking this course for some tip:) 9th grade Biology we had to learn bird calls and the only one I ever remembered is the Barred Owl so I am hoping to one day see one in real life, this evening I heard what I think was a Great Horned Owl but not 100% on that.
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For many weeks during the summer, I kept hearing a loud hooting noise. I originally thought this owl was a Great-Horned Owl because of how loud it was. The more I listened to the sound, I realized it was a barred owl because of its unique "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all call? I was very excited about this because I had always wanted to see another owl since my sighting of a Great-Horned Owl in 2016. One day, I was in my back yard in August at about 6:00 in the evening, and I heard a rusting in a nearby tree. I turned around, and there was a large barred owl staring at me from about 15 feet away. The owl stared at me for about a minute before it flew away into the trees. I never saw or heard the owl again.
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While visiting Florida I was birdwatching at a natural area around a retention pond. I saw a large animal on the ground at the edge of the pond which I was surprised to see was a great horned owl! On a trip the following year to the same area I saw some feathers sticking out of a nest in a small bare tree, blowing in the breeze. As I came round to the other side I saw the cat-like outline of a great horned owl’s head poking above the nest edge.
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I was camping at a park in southern Arizona, walking at dusk, and on a beam overhead saw two Great-horned owls. One, presumably male, was offering a plump rodent to the other. A touching moment. Another memorable sight was at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge where I saw Burrowing owl burrows with the owls standing around beside them close to the road. They didn't seem bothered by the location. They also had burrows in the sides of the irrigation ditches.
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Years ago I went down to the small pond on my property to check out what my dog was barking at. It was a Barred owl, wings open, standing in the shallow water. The owl was obviously in distress. I was able to contact a local wildlife rescue organization who came and took the owl back to their facility. Luckily, the owl was not seriously injured and was ready to be set free after just a few weeks of care. However, I learned that protocol for this facility was to release all birds of prey at a large farm about 10 miles away. I would not have thought twice about it except that we had been listening every evening to the injured owls partner call and call and call. It was very sad. Luckily I was able to convince the rescuers to release the owl back on my property (donating 3 days of carpentry labor at their facility really seemed to help!). And even more luck gave me the pleasure of bringing the owl home, setting it free and then listening FOR HOURS to the pair making so much noise! What a celebration. Of course, I’ve been an owl fan ever since.
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I am so glad you were able to get them to agree (with some prompting) to release the injured owl back to your property so that the owls could be reunited! What a wonderful experience to set it free and hear their reaction to being back together. Great story!
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@Rebecca What a wonderful story. Good for you. What a great lesson, too, in perseverance and the power to persuade. Thanks for sharing.
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That is heart warming!
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Good for you to do that to bring the pair back together!
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