• Emma
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      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.
    • William
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      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!
    • Jodi
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      I regularly see and hear Great Horned Owls and Screech Owls and I have seen a Barn Owl that an acquaintance has in captivity. Its feathers are incredibly striking.
    • Gretchen
      Participant
      Chirps: 11
      Great picture!
    • Gretchen
      Participant
      Chirps: 11
      Years ago I saw a great horned owl at the edge of a lake in northern British Columbia. I also once saw a Pygmy owl and last year heard a northern saw whet owl. Short eared owls are abundant here in Juneau, Alaska where I live and I see them regularly at dusk or dawn. I don’t have any pictures to share, sorry!
    • Stu
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      I live in Parksville on Vancouver Island in BC. I have seen two Barred owls over the past several months in two different locations and a nesting Great Horned owls with chicks. IMG_5242 In the late 1970's I lived in Churchill Falls, Labrador and was fortunate to have seen several Snowy owls. On one occasion I shot a Ptarmigan, that was about 50 meters away. Before I could walk through the deep snow to retrieve the Ptarmigan, a Snowy owl swooped down and attempted to grab the dead bird. Fortunately, I was able to recover the Ptarmigan which contained lead shotgun pellets - not a good diet for owls.
    • PAUL
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      Well I've seen 6 species of owls. Snowy, Great Horned, Barred, Short Eared, Long Eared and Saw Whet. I once saw a Saw Whet catch a mouse. That was interesting. Long Eared seem to go through here NS - on migration in December. Christmas Tree fields are a good place to see them hunt. Christmas fields is where the trees are grown - not to be confused with lots where trees are sold. I have not seen any reference to Saw Whets or Long Eared in the course so far.
    • I have seen two Great Horned Owls and one Barn Owl in the wild. One of the Great Horned Owls and the Barn Owl were seen on different days at my favorite hiking areas as they were sleeping in pine trees. The second Great Horned Owl was seen near my home sleeping in a tree. I haven't seen an owl recently, but I still see white washing and pellets or hear the owls at night.
    • Theresa
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      I have seen a family of Great Horned Owls that nest most years in a park nearby where I live in London Ontario. I have seen the owlets - so cute!! I have heard a Barred Owl a few times, usually at my cottage or when camping. And I've heard a screech owl in a nearby neighbourhood. But I wanted to take this course to learn where I might see owls and learn where to look for them camouflaged in their trees, or where to look to identify their nests.
    • jody
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      I’ve been lucky to see Great Horned, Barred, Northern Saw Whet, Snowy, and Short Eared owls in Nova Scotia…always a thrill to see one. Barred are the most common here by far.
      • PAUL
        Participant
        Chirps: 7
        a good time to see a Long Eared Owl Jody. They bark like puppiess !
    • Daren
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      Attachment We had a successful mating pair of Great Horned owls on our neighbor's property outside Durango, Colorado.  They have been nesting there for the past three years.  It has been fun to watch them grow and mature.  We had several sightings of the juvenal's during the summer months.  The past couple of weeks, we are hearing the owls calling to each other in the early morning and evenings.  I love having these special birds nesting and living right here near our house.
      • This is a great picture and was probably even a greater experience.  I have a hard time finding these creatures in the wild, clearly proving the effects of camouflage.
      • William
        Participant
        Chirps: 5
        Beautiful picture! I'm aware of two pairs in my area, so my goal this winter is to hopefully get a glimpse of nests and owlets.
    • ralph
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      IMG_4522 We had the privilege of seeing these two Great Horned owls in Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco in the summer of 2021. We saw them several times in the same area, a mother and juvenile. We have returned to the spot more recently, but have not seen more. Also, one evening at dusk we heard Great Horned owls in a wooded area in the Presidio of San Francisco. There was a dialogue going on between two owls in different trees.        
    • Andrea
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      In the wild, I've seen (and heard!) various Eurasian Scops Owl this summer in southern Italy; an Barn Owl flying over my car in Scotland, nearby Loch Ness; and just last night I've (mostly) heard and (barely) seen a couple of Tawny Owls in the woods in northern Italy, where a veterinary working from a local birding group released a Little Owl back to the wild. The latter experience is what prompted me to join this course.
    • I had a majestic experience with a great grey owl in April 2022, British Columbia, Canada. My friend and I found one at the edge of the forest. The bird flew in close and landed not 10 metres from us on a fence post, surveying the grass, then diving to catch a rodent. It obligingly posed on the post with the rodent in its beak, then soared silently right over my head; I could feel a breeze from its wings. It flew away deep into the forest, probably bringing that rodent to its nest. Magical! My friend got spectacular pictures.
    • Kurt
      Participant
      Chirps: 29
      Burrowing Owls - Nesting at the school I work at. There is a pair of burrowing owls which have raised young year after year. (The children at school named them Odysseus and Athena.) Great Horned Owl - I've encountered Great Horned Owls in Arizona and in the North East. One perched on the light post outside my bedroom window, calling to a fellow owl at some distance. It's also possible that I have heard some barn owls in a few rural environments, but did not see them. (This also discounts owls seen at zoos or bird shows)
    • jennifer
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      We moved to a wooded wetland area in Michigan 9yrs ago and had owls as neighbors. I started learning more and made a Barred owl box. After 3 years, finally have renters! Learned how to watch nests through Cornell Lab and have been logging my visits. I’m excited to say I’ve seen a baby barred owl!B7307F38-FB50-41F8-9C6D-1238C77D106582D95720-912D-47EA-A530-C8FC831005F5
      • Thanks for sharing the pictures.  That is very cool that you have Barred Owls nesting in your nest box.  I, too, live in Michigan and we have had Barred Owls nesting out in the woods near by, but I have only every seen the adults.  I put up a nest box for Screech Owls, but so far have not had anyone nest there.  Hearing that it took 3 years to get renters, gives me hope that eventually someone will move in :)  My nest box has only been up 2 years.  I hope you enjoy watching the babies.
    • Recently found a pair of northern pygmy-owls that I've been hearing around work for a while now. Near Rocky Mountain NP, Colorado. Here's my best photo of the female with a vole for lunch. NOPO 2023
    • Esteban
      Participant
      Chirps: 170
      Foto de Esteban PinillaFoto de Esteban Pinilla-5  I found today two species of owls in the same park on Bucaramanga, Colombia. Black and whites on top image, spectacled on bottom image. They are not the same picture!  
    • Emma
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      I absolutely love owls! The most recent sighting I’ve had is of the burrowing owl.911C851B-042A-43F0-BB91-9A25BA9D5FF90C4E479A-BD75-47FA-8484-50FB6D85B22A
      • jennifer
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        I had never heard of these until this class. What a wonderful picture!
    • Deborah
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      13B9221E-A3D9-422B-9601-A39662DCAB3DH
    • Nik
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      These nesting Great Horned Owls are just outside my office now. Great Horned Owl 5C adult with nestling eating copyGreat Horned Owl 5D adult with nestling eating copy
      • jennifer
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        You are so lucky!!
    • Laura
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      IMG_2201 Saw this barred owl on a neighbor's feeder near Raleigh, NC in Jan 2021. Interesting that the other birds didn't seem fazed by it - it's like they knew it wasn't hunting them, but mice or chipmunks attracted to the seed on the ground. We hear great horned owls and screech owls in the area on a regular basis, but we rarely catch a glimpse of them except sometimes in flight at dusk. The great horned look like flying shoeboxes! :)
      • Donna
        Participant
        Chirps: 1
        What a great picture! I, too, live outside Raleigh, near Butner. We moved out here several years ago and I've been charmed and intrigued by the owls in our area. Their music at dusk and after dark is beautiful. I saw a large horned owl once as I drove down our lane. He swooped down over my car without making a sound. I was amazed at the breadth of his/her wings!
    • Mark
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      Lived in the Northwest Territories for many years where we were lucky enough to see the Great Grey Owl.  Recently living on Vancouver Island we hear frequently the Barred Owl...which we have also seen, as well as the Great Horned Owl.
    • Sandy
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      Snowy Owl by Deadhorse, AK on a birding trip with a guide. We also had screech owls right in the city of Houston
    • Emily
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      snowy and barred owl