The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › The Wonderful World of Owls › Who Is That Owl?
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I have seen: Great Horned Owl (Guyana) ,Spectacled Owl (Guyana),Black Banded Owl (Guyana), Burrowing Owl (Guyana), Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (Guyana) and Snowy Owl (Manitoba, Canada)
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Yes. We have seen snowy owls in Winnipeg. We also had what we thought was a screech owl in a bird house in Winnipeg. We were able to participate in an owl banding project at Scanlon Creek near Bradford, Ontario many years ago. The biologist was catching Northern Saw-whet owls.
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I've seen a trio of juvenile Barred owls while camping. I've seen two juvenile Barred owls in the tree outside my bedroom window. In both instances they were having a good time calling back and forth to each other. They also didn't seem to care when I shined my flashlight on them to watch them. They didn't really seem to care how close I came to them either. The pair outside my window hung out for about 3 nights then they left. It was awesome to see them so close up.
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What a thrill to watch them from such close proximity, no? I live in rural foothills and have had a similar experience recently viewing a Great Horned Owl. Four nights in a row, I watched it fly up into a tree near my porch and sit there for a few minutes before flying off over my pastures. Silently. If not for other responsibilities that took me away, I would have waited every night to see if it returned.
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Yes! It was one of the most exciting sightings I’ve ever had. I caught a glimpse of a Snowy Owl as I was driving through open farmland. I was so surprised that I nearly drove into the ditch. I’m in Northern California and we just don’t expect to see them here. It was February 2017 and a particularly cold, wet winter. It must have been following its food sources. I was very appreciative that it waited just long enough for me to snap it’s picture. As I’d drive in that area daily, I watched for it for days and weeks later but never saw it again. This was near Delevan, Colusa County, California.
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That is a fantastic image and incredibly rare sight! What a treat to find!
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Wow, such a beautiful picture of this Snowy Owl. Thanks for sharing… how exciting it must of been to see him up close.
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I have seen Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls in zoos, but sadly I have never seen one in the wild. I have always wanted to! I hope this course will give me some tips for seeing an owl out in the wild.
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I hope you’ll see them in the wild, too. I live in a rural area and have seen a couple of different species over the years but it’s always such a surprise. They are so stealthy.
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I believe I heard 2 northern pygmy owls while running this morning. I am looking forward to going out for a walk to see if I can spot them.
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Yes I have! I have seen a Barred Owl and Great Horned Owl in the wild. I, of course, have seen other owls in zoos/captivity. Both have been featured in this course as we've seen, and both are magnificent birds in my opinion. I love the haunting look of the eyes and facial disc of the Barred Owl, and the intense, determined look in the yellow eyes of the Great Horned Owl. I have seen these birds in the park reserves near my home in Anoka, MN and my parents' house in Maple Grove, MN, as well as on the trails along the highway. Additionally, I believe we occasionally get a pair of owls right outside our bedroom window at night. This Barred Owl I spotted while on a walk on a trail adjacent to the highway and happened to turn its head right when I looked up!
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I have seen a few Great Horned Owls around my neighborhood of Oak Creek, Colorado! I have seen one at a time, but have heard two calling to each other. I don't consistently hear or see them, however, when I do it is always a treat! Especially when I witness one in flight. Their silence during flight is something to marvel at.
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I agree with your comment about the silence of their flight. It’s almost as if you’re hearing the air turbulence, as opposed to feathers ruffling and such. Other than noticing the large shape in motion out of the corner of my eye, I’ve wondered how I’d have noticed them at all?
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I love the expression on this Boreal owl! (That is the correct species, right?)
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@Dani Took me forever to figure out how to reply. Yes it is a Boreal Owl. I have been blessed to see many different types of owls. Northern Hawk owls, Great Horned Owls, Great Grey Owls, Snowy Owls, all in Alaska. Since moving to Az I’ve seen Great Horned, Burrowing, and Barn owls. I just posted a picture of a Great Grey. Not a great picture but I hope everyone enjoys it.
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@Greg So cool! What a great image and blessing to see all those different species.
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I was lucky enough to see 2 Great-horned Owls and 2 Barn Owls while I was paddle boarding in Northern Utah last weekend. The alarm calls of mobbing robins and chickadees alerted me to the presence of the first owl, an adult Great-horned, concealed deep in a juniper tree about 4 feet off the ground. A little further downstream I spotted a strange large pale shape in another juniper tree. It looked like a plastic bag, but it was another Great-horned owl. This time a fledgling. It stretched its neck up and bobbed its head around to get a better look at me and then flew off. When I paddled back upstream 2 hours later I could still hear the chickadees and robins mobbing. I was looking around for the fledgling, but saw a different owl in the same area, an adult Barn Owl. It too flew off after watching me and then I spotted a second Barn Owl. The original adult Great-horned was still in the same tree getting mobbed. It seemed like maybe it was drawing fire for the other owls as the little birds didn't pay any attention to them. I have never gotten such good looks at Barn Owls. Felt like I was as Hogwarts!
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I live in central Texas in the United States. We have four types of owls in our immediate area: Great Horned (probably the most common), Barn, Barred and Eastern Screech. I heard a Great Horned Owl while birding yesterday in a wetland park. Here is a photo of a Barred Owl I took at that same park several years ago.
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I had a Great Horned Owl perch regularly on a dead tree at the opening of a bamboo cluster. It was a regular visitor for about 5 years. I would stand near the dead tree and we would just look at each other. How lucky was I. The bamboo had to be removed and the owl moved on. I still hear the call of a Great Horned Owl in the woods behind my house and sometimes see a big owl glide thru the trees. Maybe the owl still lives near me.
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I saw a snowy owl in the Meadowlands in NJ one winter (must have been an irruption year). Other than that, I saw a Great Horned Owl at a Rehabilitation facility, and some Owls from Temple University in Philadelphia (Temple's mascot = an owl).
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Yes! I've seen Barn Owls, Great-horned, and Ferruginous Pygmy Owls :)
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Great Horned Owls, Eastern Screach Owl & Snowy Owl
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Great pic! And man I love its expression! :)
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Yes ! Whenever I am leading a birding tours, I always go for owling even during a daylight. That is one of my productive way of birding and no wonder owls are fascinating creatures. This picture of African Scops-owl (Otus senegalensis) was digi scoped with my cellphone down in Rift Valley part of Ethiopia in the daylight.
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What a stunning image! Such a beautiful owl! Thanks for sharing this.
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Beautiful…. I’ve seen so many great images posted. I need to get myself a spotting scope. So exciting to see these beautiful images. Thank you
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2/21/24 2:39 pmWhen I was preteen some birder friends with large acreage would show us various birds when we visited them. Once Harry showed us a fairly developed owlet that he took from the nest and then replaced. He was wearing heavy leather gloves. About five years ago our family was visiting in Edinburgh, Scotland, where naturalists had two rescued owls outside of a Scottish National Heritage shop. For five pounds you could hold the largest European owl (Great Grey, maybe). I was able to stroke its breast feathers - so soft! And had my picture taken with it, a highlight of my trip. It was both educational & a fund raiser for the bird group. In Seattle, where I currently live I have seen Barn Owls once in one park and fairly large owlets in another park. When I lived in Spokane, WA, a friend called me about a barred owl that had caught a squirrel in a nearby park and was enjoying it's meal, mid-afternoon, in a tree in her front yard. The tale of the squirel can be seen arcing to the left of the owl.
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When I was preteen some birder friends with large acreage would show us various birds when we visited them. Once Harry showed os a fairly developed owlet that he took from the nest and replaced. He was wearing heavy leather gloves. About five years ago our family was visiting in Edinburgh Scotland where naturalists had two rescued owls outside of a Scottish National Heritage shop. For five pounds you could hold the largest European owl (Great Grey, maybe). I was able to stroke its breast feathers - so soft! And had my picture taken with it, a highlight of my trip. It was both educational & a fund raiser for the bird group.
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I got to see a Snowy Owl in the wild in Kaktovik, Alaska. I didn't get a good photo of it but it was thrilling to know I saw one.
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I saw several great grey owls one winter a couple years ago when they came out of the boreal forest into the more open wooded areas in central Saskatchewan. That was on a nature society field trip. I also saw a great grey perched on a fence pole with a small mammal in his mouth in late summer in Alberta. Completely by chance. What luck! I even happened to have my camera with me and I watched him swallow that mammal through the zoom lens, while also getting a couple photos. Amazing! The person who lived there said there was a family raising young on the property.
I came upon a great horned owl perched on a branch during the day one summer. I saw a few northern saw whet owls when I visited a banding station in Saskatchewan. So adorable!
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Wow! That's adorable! Thanks for sharing :)
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Great story and pics! Thanks for sharing!
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I have seen Short eared owls hunting at dusk, a Snowy Owl and Great Horned Owls nesting, all in Upstate New York. Hope to see many more.
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I've seen two owl species in the wild: Short eared owl in the summer in Iceland - I watched one hunt for 30 minutes in the evening. Temperatures were in the 60's. I've also watched short eared owls in the winter in Cincinnati, OH where I live. They come out about 30 minutes before sunset and hunt. Temperatures in December and January are 25-35. Much colder!! This owl is a very active hunter, flying and diving for prey and staying in the air for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. The other owl is the barred owl in the summer in Cincinnati, OH. I watched the same individual owl hunt in a local park on 3 separate days this past summer. The bird would start hunting about 1 hour before sunset. In one hour this bird would catch 3 to 5 mice. The hunting is very slow paced. The bird sits still on a low branch and slowly flight down on a mouse when it sees or hears one. During one hour, the bird sits still for 55 minutes, and flys for 5 minutes. It was amazing to watch this bird!!
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My husband and I saw a barred owl this past summer. We spotted him because he was being attacked by blue jays at dusk. He flew right in front of us and didn't make a sound. It was amazing.
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I have seen in owl in real life and it has been one featured in this course so far. I have seen a barred owl with my grandfather in my backyard. It was super cool to see one in person as owls are birds that are harder to see than others. The beauty and size of the bird was absolutely amazing to me and it is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.
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Yes! I've been lucky enough to have several sightings of Snowy owls but not for a couple years. I regularly go out to look for Barred and Great Horned Owls and have been reasonably successful in terms of sightings. The vast majority of the time though, I can only hear them, which is still really cool. We're also fortunate enough to hear a screech owl in our backyard on occasion but only one at a time. I've been able to see the individuals fly only a couple of times!
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