The Wonderful World of Owls

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)

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!

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.

  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!  

I absolutely love owls! The most recent sighting I’ve had is of the burrowing owl.

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These nesting Great Horned Owls are just outside my office now.

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! :)

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.

Snowy Owl by Deadhorse, AK on a birding trip with a guide. We also had screech owls right in the city of Houston

snowy and barred owl

I've seen Great Horned owls (in one memorable instance, an adult with an immature), Eastern Screech-owl (kindly came to my NJ backyard!), and Burrowing owls (the last was while visiting another state).  Always a treat to see an owl!

I have heard so many time the Great Horned Owl in the trees next to my house but I haven't been lucky yet, haven't seen a single one... I brought my little brother and grandparents outside at night to hear them. They are incredible. On vacation not so long ago in Costa Rica, we saw near a river a crested owl and later a juvenile spectacled owl! I was so thrilled and it meant so much to me!! Here are the photos I was able to take. I still can't believe I saw them!

I have heard a Barred Owl in my backyard for a few years. I normally hear its signature call before I go to bed or early in the morning. A month or so ago I saw it up close on my backyard fence! It was beautiful and large. Owls are so cool!

Wanted to see owls all my life, finally got my wish. Saw two barred owls in the past month, on two separate occasions, right next to busy walking paths in the city.

I had wanted to see an owl for years, and finally saw two barred owls within the same year, out in Central Massachusetts where my sister lives. The first one was in the backyard, it was lightly snowing, and I just by chance saw it flying by a window, then it settled on the top of a post-like tree, right in the middle of the yard, so I was able to watch it for a while. I think seeing that one helped me then spot the second one, later that same year, because the shape was more familiar - I was driving up the road near the house, and saw another barred owl sitting on the utility wires. That day it was also overcast, and lightly raining. I went home, got my sister, then we drove back out together and parked, and I took this photo. 

I certainly hear them fairly frequently where I live, but seldom see them. There is a state park near me where a little screech owl often hides in a hole high in a tree and if you really focus, you can just barely make him out. The camouflage is amazing!

Yes, I have seen barred owls flying in New Hampshire. I have also seen a Great Horned owl because I was sitting with some friends on the top of a hill that must have been close to a nest because he/she was not happy and making it clear.  I would not have been able to identify the owl from seeing it at night flying but I did identify the characteristic hoot.

Here is my most recent Owl sighting.. Great-horned Owl Sun City West, Desert Springs Golf Course Wednesday. January 4, 2023

No. I really really really want to see one!!!!

My wife and I along with two friends were visiting the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Preserve near Lawton, OK, several years ago. The WMWP is a beautiful area of open prairie, old mountains, buffalo, prairie dogs (and burrowing owls, of course) and longhorn cattle. While driving about 30 mph along a straight section of road in the Preserve, we noticed that a large owl (species unknown) was flying and keeping pace with us as we moved along. It was as if he was racing us. This went on for a mile or so. It was a beautiful day and a nice memory!

I saw an Ashy-faced Owl in the Dominican republic. This was a wonderful experience as this bird is rare and endemic to Hispaniola. I love its blue coloured face. https://ebird.org/checklist/S97721191

Once.  Working in the woods a long time ago.  A coworker spotted a large owl midflight and pointed it out.  Definetly an owl, as we could see the flat face in profile. Still searching for the next owl.

I volunteered and worked at an aviary where the raptors couldn’t return to the wild and was able to help care for Barred Owls, Barn Owls, Eastern-Screech Owls, and Great Horned Owls. I also had a Barred Owl that would hang out in my back yard a lot.

We have a resident Barred Owl who seems to play a game of "Where's Waldo" from time to time as I walk my dogs in the evening. The best place I have spotted "Waldo"  was on a speed limit sign within our neighborhood. I quickly snapped a picture of him before he flew off to catch a speeding mouse. :)

I've seen a couple on guided hikes but was hoping to be able to see them on my own. I envy people who have that knack for spotting them.

Have seen a couple of Horned Owls from afar really early one morning a while back. Have heard owls mostly when hiking through the woods or at night. I do currently volunteer at a State Park that has an aviary of various owls, falcons and hawks. These are raptors that have been injured and can no longer be free. They are well cared for and are taken to various outreach educational events. I get to clean their mews, feed and water them. We have a barred owl, 2 great horned owls, barn owl, and an eastern screech owl. They are so beautiful I love being up close to them. They have the most gorgeous expressive faces and I am honored to be able to care for them.

My husband and I saw a Barred Owl in Red Rocks Park, in Burlington Vermont a couple of weeks ago. We were out walking in the late afternoon in the woods. It flew onto a tree branch near the canopy top and stared at us for awhile. He seemed to be saying “who are you looking at”? We were surprised to see it in broad daylight. What a treat!

Yesterday (11/14)this Barred Owl stayed in my yard all day! A group of crows harassed him/her, jays screamed, even a Cooper's Hawk showed up, but he seemed unimpressed. After he had been there for some time, Am. Goldfinches, House Finches, and Eurasian Tree Sparrows returned. St. Louis Co. MO

I started birding this year, in Maryland. My two goals were to see a Baltimore Oriole and an owl. I saw a barred owl while on a guided birdwalk at a local park in October! My new goal is to try and see one on my own - hoping this course will help!

I was at a bird sanctuary near St Louis and got to see a demonstration with a barn owl.  It was a gorgeous bird and I was able to get some really nice photos.  The sanctuary had a wonderful variety of birds, but the barn owl was my favorite. At home I often hear the great horned owls, but haven’t gotten to see one.

This incident did not happen to me, but was recently reported in our local media. A homeowner in an upscale suburb of Victoria B.C. called police around 4 a.m. to report an intruder in their home.  When the police arrived, they located the suspect, a Barred Owl, perched on a couch.  After some coaxing, the "suspect" exited without further incident, through open patio doors. Although Barred Owls are a recent arrival to southwestern B.C. (around 1970), they are now a common resident in the area.  I have often seen them perched in trees during daylight hours, although they are mostly nocturnal.

a few years back I was lucky to see a barred owl that was hanging out in central park in new york city which definitely awakened my love for the birds. I've also encountered a few great horned owls around california, this August I woke up to a GHO hoo-ing in pebble beach and saw one perched outside my apartment in los angeles that same night! it felt like it was following me down the coast :-)

Hi! I have seen Barn Owls, Short Eared Owls, Burrowing Owls, Great Horned Owls, Spotted Owls, Screech Owls and Snowy Owl. I have heard Barred Owls, and Flammulated Owls. These sightings were in  California, Oregon, Washington, and Utah.

Barn owl in Illinois Will County

Luckily I've seen 8 species of owls so far (9 if you consider Magellanic Horned Owl separate from Great Horned Owl), and I would like to share one of my favourite pics I've taken. This is a Magellanic Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus magellanicus), from the Strobel Lake plateau in Patagonia, Argentina. It was a family of three individuals that lived in a lagoon that we visited to make a census of aquatic birds. There's no doubt that this was the most incredible thing we spotted!

Yes.  I have seen and/or heard:  Great Horned Owls, Great Gray Owl,  Barn Owls, Western & Eastern Screech Owls, Spotted Owl, Barred Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Flammulated Owl and Burrowing Owls, all in the wild.  I have seen other owls in captivity only.  I did see a Sparx Owl, a hybrid between a Spotted Owl and a Barred Owl that was in captivity at Humboldt State University. I hear Great Horned Owls pretty frequently, and sometimes (some years) I have heard Western Screech Owls pretty frequently.  I usually hear a Barn Owl a couple times per year. I have built bird boxes for Western Screech Owls and Flammulated Owls.  I have had Screech Owls use several of my boxes and also nest in my attic. I helped relocate a Spotted Owl and reband it.  My grandkids got to select the bands, and handle the owl.  I have also held out a stick with a mouse on it for a Spotted Owl to come down and take it for food!

In Thailand I have seen the Asian Barred Owlet, sitting exposed on a bare branch in daylight.  I have also seen a Brown Boobook during a night ‘safari’. It was sitting on a wire that spanned across the path we were taking.

I had the good fortune of working in the Canadian High Arctic doing archaeological research on Ellesmere Island for several field seasons. Snowy owls often nested in the area, so we saw them fairly often over the years. They are magnificent!

I saw a nest of baby owls in a barrel floating on the Choptank River in Trappe, Maryland. I don’t know what kind of owl they were, there were about six of them, they were about 8 inches tall and they looked 1,000 years old.

I was fortunate enough to see snowy owls near Churchill Manitoba while out on the tundra doing climate change research. They were much larger than I expected. They were gorgeous while in flight. I also spotted two Cuban pygmy owls while in Cuba. This was exciting because they are found nowhere else on Earth!

I live in Seattle where barred owls are common.  I've had them in my yard!  We also are lucky enough to get snowy owls from time to time.

I've unfortunately never seen a wild owl. But, I have seen some kept as ambassadors and as rescues at my local animal sanctuaries. Those were mainly Barred, Great Horned, and Barn owls. One December I did hear some Great Horneds hooting a ways off which has been the closest I've ever (knowingly) gotten to a wild owl. While the captive birds were just as lovely, there's something breathtaking about seeing a more mysterious/rare animal out in nature.

I caught this Northern Saw-whet owl casting out a pellet before consuming the Deer mouse that was safely stored underfoot. .

I have been very fortunate to have a photo buddy and we go out regularly to search for owls.  We have seen many but my dearest experience is being able to photograph the Northern Pygmy Owl.  This is my second Pygmy that I have been fortunate enough to capture with my camera.  Living on Vancouver Island allows me to see many different species of owls.  They are very special indeed!

I have always loved owls. Owls are my favorite Bird of Prey. One day I hope to be an ambassador for Birds of Prey. In 5th grade we had to do a science project where we had to dissect their feces to see what they had eaten. Mine was a mouse. After cleaning the droppings, we got to glue the bones to a piece of paper. It was the coolest science experiment I have ever done. To this day if I am in the woods, I search for droppings hoping to one day be able to do my own experiment. Besides the owls in the photos from the Renaissance Festival in Hammond, LA, I see them every so often where I live. In fact, about 2 years ago my friend, myself, and her dog were sitting outside one night when an owl actually flew down right in front of us trying to pick her dog up. Fortunately, the owl landed next to the dog missing it's target.

Si soy Uruguayo y en persona y libres conozco a tres tipos; Athene cunicularia, Bubo virginianus y Megascop choliba. 

A pair of barred owls has been nesting in a hollow oak tree just about 15 feet behind my back yard deck. This is the fifth year, and I'm observing them now. They've had from two to four chicks each year; this is one of the chicks from the first year we saw them, 2017. The pair comes back to the hollow in January and stays until Easter, by which time the chicks have all branched in our trees and then flown off into the forest behind my fence. I have photos, a security camera, and a lot of short iPhone videos of them, including videos of the chicks climbing trees after they have fallen or coasted to the ground. They feel like family to me.

I've moved from the city to the country side. Last two years I had this little fellow as a neighbour, by the sound and the sightings I can imagine it was living really close to my house, about 100 meters or so. One evening I actually saw it matting. This year I am sighting and listening it less regularly around the house. Maybe they moved further "down the road". There is a nearby footpath with a mini oak and cork tree forest and in the evening you can listen and understand that there are many tiny owls more around.

We hear Barred Owls near our home in rural Maine throughout the year, but are still hoping to catch a look at them.

I've mostly heard owls hooting rather than seeing them, but once saw the pale underbelly of what I believe was a Barn Owl, based on its size and silent flight across a grassy field one night. I'll bet the owl was hunting as I've seen other birds, like kestrels, hunt in that field during the daytime. Other than that, I consider myself fortunate to have volunteered at a raptor rehabilitation center where they had non-releasable education raptors (including several species of owls). I've had the opportunity to hold them "on the glove" and so have seen quite a few species up close, including the Great Horned Owl, Barn Owl, Burrowing Owl, and Northern Saw-Whet Owl. It was especially amazing to feel the weight of the Great Horned Owl as volunteers often sat with our gloved hand resting upon our knee in order to not feel fatigued by his weight. Some of us experienced a bit of his grip strength too, as I was told by a more experienced volunteer, that the owl would tighten his grip on your fingers when he wanted to return to his aviary. It would be very interesting if this was, indeed, an intent to communicate with human handlers.

I've been lucky to see several species in my life. My favorite experiences are: When about 11 or 12 we discovered a hole in an apple tree on my Aunt's farm. We peered inside and there was a screech owl peering back at us. Living in the Midwest my whole life I never observed a barn owl. Until a few years ago while driving back from Volcanoes National Park on Rt200 on the big island Hawaii. There in the headlights we observed a barn owl. Of all places, that was the last place I expected that. Finally, while hunting ducks hunkered down amongst tall grass along a stream near the end of the day, several short eared owls appeared. They would dive and swoop, sometimes getting quite close if I happened to move my head or hands. Really wished I brought my camera. I've also observed Great Horned, Barred and Burrowing owls.

Great horned owls are the owl we see most commonly in Indiana.  A couple of years ago one would sit in the large silver maple in our front yard.  Early one morning he was sitting on the ground.  When I got my camera to take his picture I realized our black cat was sitting a few feet away.  I'm not sure who was more scared of the other.  The owl flew off.  Later there was a commotion in our swamp.  Various birds and especially our resident Cooper's hawk were mobbing the owl who was sitting on a downed tree.  He did not have a good day!

I have seen a great horned owl on a nest near Prime Hook Delaware. I knew the nest was there and stopped by repeatedly with a spotting scope. Have seen Spotted owls at dusk along a marshy area. What beautiful flyers they were. A snowy owl was camped out at beach near my home in Delaware. I got a really good look at it once. I saw a really big grey owl just at dark. It was in flight and shot by about 15 feet off the ground. I don’t know what it was but it was magnificent I hear screech owls and “hoot” owls regularly, have never seen them. That is my total lifetime owl experience and I am 72.

Had this beauty all winter.

I've seen, and heard a Great Horned Owl many times over the years in both flight and perched in our 450-year-old oak tree for one, and hear a pair hooting back and forth from my bed in the early morning hours.  I live in the woods, 100 yards from a large pond in the Litchfield Hills of CT. I am also about five miles from the Sharon Audubon where they have several resident owls in their aviary.  I love to go and watch them.

I've seen barred owls in Ohio and long eared owls in Indiana. Owls

There's a Great Horned Owl that sleeps in a neighbors palm tree most days of the week. Sometimes we will hear them hooting at night when they take off to hunt. I love sitting in my kitchen, sipping coffee and looking at the beautiful owl! (New Mexico)

I DIDN'T KNOW MOST OF THE PICTURES BUT I LOVED LEARNING ABOUT THEM

Yes, we've visited the Raptor's Trust in NJ several times and have seen owls that can't be released because of a permanent injury.  Once we went to the trust and there was a visiting horned owl on a tree outside the horned owl enclosure, We went on a moonlight walk with the NJ Conservation Foundation and the naturalist was able to find a small owl, maybe a saw whet or screetch owl in a tree nearby.

I forgot to mention a Great Gray Owl which was a rare visitor to Jefferson County in Northern New York several years ago. I will never forget the thrill of seeing that Owl!

I have seen a Great Horned Owl in Syracuse, a Snowy Owl this winter near Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, a Barred Owl several times while camping in Ontario, Canada ( one time with chicks in a nesting hole high up a dead tree) and an Eastern Screech Owl several times as they nest very close to our house which borders a heavily wooded city park in Syracuse.

Great horned ans have heard a screech owl but have never seen one

Juvenile Eastern Screech-Owl, Central Wisconsin, Summer 2021.

I live in Wisconsin. During the winter 03-04 irruption of Great Grays and Snowys, I took a couple of days off and drove up to Superior, WI where there had been numerous GGO sightings. I spent many hours of driving around the area, both shoreline and back roads. Turned onto a deserted back road south of town when up ahead I could see a large object sitting on a powerline. No doubt a Great Gray Owl! I watched at a distance from my car so as not to spook it and was simply amazed at the sheer bulk of this owl. Beautiful bird! Once I stepped out of my vehicle to attempt some photos but since I was in the wide open of the deserted road, he flew back into the trees. Did not get much in the way of decent photos but the experience alone made the trip worth it!

We have a good size barred owl population around our home in Central Maine and we have heard them and seen them for years. Last late summer some were screeching outside in the evening and we went out to see two 1/2 grown chicks making all kinds of noise over our compost pile. We could hear an adult at a distance and they were communicating. I have also seen saw whet and Great horned owls near here. Last summer I heard a Great Horned owl at my son's home in Mid-coast Maine and later that week we found a feather of that owl in the vegetable garden. On a trip to Patagonia years ago I saw a Rufous Legged Owl.

Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), which we call Lechucita de Campo, are fairly common in Uruguay and we often see them in fields or even on sand dunes or abandoned structures by the sea.

This is a Ñacurutú (Bubo virginianus, Great Horned Owl) which we saw in Tacuarembó department, Uruguay. It was perched on the edge of a eucaliptus grove, close to a highway. In the afternoon heat the owl barely moved and was difficult to see.

When I lived in Northern New Jersey, USA, I'd walk paths along the Saddle River and a few times at dusk encountered Great Horned Owls perched about 15'+ above the path in trees.  Once I heard two owls calling to one another from either sides of the river.  And once I had a "conversation" with a Great Horned--I'd make owl-like calls and it would look down at me and stare!  Wonderful encounters.

These guys were watching eat in the patio last summer!

In our neighborhood in Raleigh, I mostly hear owls. I’ve seen some, including a beautiful pair of screech owls that lived in a tree next to the lodge where we were staying in Costa Rica. But here the barred owls are just a lovely night-time sound—I rarely see them. Our neighborhood has a large supply of chipmunks and other critters to keep them happy. Sometimes I  hear several owls, calling back and forth to each other, and sometimes changing their calls or getting very excited. I wonder what they are saying! The photo below is one of the screech owls I saw in Costa Rica.

For several years we had a pair of Barred Owls nesting in an old tree cavity near my home. It was wonderful seeing the fluffy owlets each year poke their heads out of the hole. Unfortunately they stopped returning after a territorial fight with some red shoulder hawks.

Yes. I have seen and heard many Great Horned Owls. They perch high in old Cottonwood trees hooting back and forth between a pair of them. I have seen two pairs in an evening, in different areas along my nightly walks.

We saw a beautiful snowy owl on Plum Island in Massachusetts recently!

I have seen Barred Owls in Murrells Inset, SC and Jackson, SC.

I have seen two Great Horned Owls and one Eastern Screech Owl in the wild. I'm in the lower Hudson Valley of NY.  The Screech Owl was sitting on my driveway railing when I pulled in one night and stayed there even when I parked next to it. It only flew away when my door accidentally hit the railing (oops). Since then, I've heard at least one in the backyard every month or so.

Yes, there are Barred owls that live in my neighborhood in Henrico County, VA.  I have been  on guided birding trips and have seen Snowy owls in Duluth, Minnesota, a Northern Hawk Owl in NW Wisconsin, Boreal owls in Duluth, a Great Grey north of Duluth, Long Eared  and Short Eared Owls in Mission Valley, MT, Northern Pygmy Owls in Montana, Burrowing owls in AZ, Western Screech owl, Whiskered  Screech owl and  Flammulated owl on Mt Lemon in Tucson, AZ.  Elf owl in Coronado Forest, south of Tucson, AZ.  Great Horned in Portal, AZ. I would love to see a Barn owl, but someone told me that I need to know someone who either has a barn or knows someone who has a barn where I can be invited in to see the owl.

We've had burrowing owls (and barred, and great horned, and others) in our Florida neighborhood near the beach. I love these little guys with their long legs, round heads, and spooky call. We used to see them frequently in the evening, lined up in a row like a choir, often right at eye level on a live oak or sea grape branch. They didn't seem to have much fear and seemed to be curious about us, too. Now that more houses have been built, the gopher tortoises and the burrowing owls are rare.

Barred owl observed while walking my dogs in a local park mid afternoon just outside Portland, Oregon.

One evening while camping, I was sitting on the picnic table bench waiting for my husband to return from the bathroom so we could start setting up our tent when an owl swooped down next to me and picked up a mouse. It happened so quickly that I wasn't able to identify the species of owl, but it awesome to have this close encounter with nature. I was also surprised (and so was the mouse!) by how quietly this large bird could find and attack it's dinner. I was unaware of either creature until the owl swooped down.

I have been fortunate over the years to see & photograph 10 species of owls in Canada & the US -- Great Horned, Barred, Boreal, Snowy, Great Gray, Short-eared, Northern Saw-Whet, Northern Hawk, Long-eared and Burrowing plus 3 in Africa - Verreaux's Eagle-Owl, a Pearl-spotted Owlet and an African Wood Owl.  My favourite in North American is the Great Gray Owl, which to me has almost a regal bearing with a very intense stare when it focuses on you - I love the facial disk and the eyes.  I also like the Snowy which is always a treat to see standing in a snow covered field or on the move searching for dinner.  In Florida, I had my first experience seeing Burrowing owls, which actually popped out of their burrows within a sand bunker on a golf course!  Fortunately everyone seemed to know they were there and gave that bunker a wide berth.  I really enjoy seeing and photographing owls and love when we have any kind of irruption year ... even a mini-one! Thanks for offering this great course.

I have seen all four of the native species of owl that are found in the Southern U.S...Great Horned, Barred, Barn and Eastern Screech.  As a photographer, I've captured several great images of each.  The only owl that I still need to get a better photo of is the Barn Owl, but they are tricky to locate.  I have also seen, (and gotten a silhouette photo), of a Short Eared Owl that visited our area this time last year.  The highlight of my spring of 2021 was seeing two Great Horned owlets in their nest.  I also captured a fledged Barred owlet, and a non-fledged Eastern Screech in the red morph plumage.  I love to photograph all birds, but owls are hands down my favorite.  

In my dense urban/suburban patch (Chestnut Hill, MA) we had 6 Eastern Screech owls in 2020 and at least 4 Great Horned Owls in 2021. Hoping for a Snowy in 2022, but I suspect I'll have to travel further!

I have seen snowy owls on the tundra near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada while on a polar bear "tour". I was fortunate to see a Great Grey Owl near a parking lot at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada, unusual to be on the coast more likely to be seen in the interior of the province. Most recently, a Barred Owl in Francis Pennisula Park, Pender Harbour, BC, Canada - chasing a Stellar's Jay, with another Stellar's Jay trying to prevent the attack.

We also have great horned owls in our area.  I live in the mountains of Colorado and we usually have a nesting pair near us.

I have seen a handful of Great Horned Owls and barn owls.  Growing up in rural Missouri it wasn’t uncommon to have one of these large birds spook you at on walks at night.

I live right near a large nature preserve in Alberta, Canada and I often see owls around my home.  Great- horned owls seem to be by far the most common ( there are several breeding pairs that nest within walking distance of my house each spring and I love watching the little ones!).  I have also seen Great Grey Owls, Northern Saw-whet Owls, Long-eared Owls, Boreal Owls, Barred Owls and Snowy Owls in my area as well. The Barred Owls also nest nearby.  I was also fortunate enough to observe some Burrowing Owls out on the grasslands while on a road trip. That was a huge highlight for me - they are so cute and enigmatic.

I've seen and heard Eastern Screech Owls pretty frequently in the city of Rochester NY. I'm going to build a nest box for them, as I've heard them right in my neighborhood in the middle of the city. Have also seen Snowy Owls up by the shore of Lake Ontario, Short-eared Owls in Buckland Park and Nations Road areas, Saw-whet Owls in Braddock Bay Park, and Great-horned Owls and Barred Owls in various places. I also once saw a Hawk Owl over near Medina, NY.  I especially love watching Short-eared Owls flying about silently just before dusk in winter. I hope to see a Barn Owl some day.

I saw a snowy owl while hiking in the dunes out at Race Point in Provinceton, MA in February of this year. Apparently they travel through there or may nest there that time of year and are so beautiful! The only other experiences I have had with owls were studying/banding barn owls in Nantucket, MA and rehabilitating great horned and screech owls while working at the New England Wildlife Center.

When I was little some great horned owls visited a big dead tree behind our house from time to time. We could often hear them calling to other nearby owls. On certain special nights my parents woke us up to see them, and up close through some binoculars. We loved it! They were some very special neighbors :)

I saw a Snowy Owl on Christmas Day in Northwest Indiana in 2017.  It flew alongside our car as we were driving to our family dinner.  I also saw two young Great Horned Owls in a nest in the Indianapolis, Indiana area in the spring of 2021.  These I was able to photograph.

I live in England and the owl that I have seen most often is the Barn Owl.   My house overlooks fields and last summer I had some great views of a barn owl hunting around the field in the twilight for several weeks.   A neighbour told me he knew of a nest nearby, so it must have been feeding young. Interestingly it always went along the edge of the fields where there is rough grass, but never in the middle which was arable crops.  I assume that all the mice and voles live in the rough grass themselves. I have regularly heard tawny owls calling, but never seen them.

We hear Great Horned Owls pretty regularly outside our house in late fall/winter. A few years ago we went outside to try and see them and could see them perched on rooftops on houses in my neighborhood. Occasionally, my kids and I would see them fly to the  to the next rooftop and would try to follow them.  Beautiful!

I have never seen a owl in real life but I have heard a Great Horned Owl when I woke up at night.

My dream is to see a Great Gray Owl. They are somewhere in the Blue Mountains in Oregon but birders keep spots pretty secret. Someday! I've only in recent years finally seen owls: Northern Pygmy Owl at a campsite this fall, plenty of Barn owls flitting by in rural areas, burrowing owls in Colorado and Eastern Oregon, Barred Owls are somewhat common even just hiking around the Portland Metro Area, and several Great Horned Owls at our lovely Ridgefield NWR. Here's a shot of what I think is a juvenile:

I have only seen two owls in my life, both were the Great Horned Owl and in December of two different years, several years apart. The first siting was in December, 2004 during a rare snowfall. The Great Horned Owl was sitting on a branch of a decaying tree along the right of way behind my house, not far from a tributary of the Brazos River. Due to the moonlight and the reflected snow, I could see very well the ear tufts with a chunky built bird. The other siting occurred in a grove of trees across the street from my house. I was out that night photographing my house with its newly strung  Christmas lights, when I heard some rustling of leaves behind me and a neighborhood cat named Midnight went running across the street into my flowerbeds to escape from a Great Horned Owl who was giving chase. It was a close call for Midnight and I saw him around later on in the week. My local HOA has removed both the trees along the right of way and the mixed grove of trees across from my house, so my chances of seeing owls close to my home are remote unless I travel to go "owling", which I may do soon. It is December of the year and a good time to see my friends, the owls.I have no pictures, only memories.

As a kid growing up, we had family friends with a barn owl living on their bookshelf. They found it in their yard as a young owlet ("who threw that cotton wool on our lawn?", was their line) and remained in their house for many years. Apparently it used to leave during the night to go hunting and then return to his bookshelf in the morning. I wish I had paid more attention to it all those years ago, I didn't even realize then how special that was! :)

Great horned owls are common in our area - Platte River Valley in NE We get to hear them call for a partner at night, and can catch a reply most of the time. Have also seen Burrow Owls in our pasture one season. Years ago - Most unusual was seeing a snowy owl in a field during the day in early to late spring.  I always wondered if this sighting was ok, or if it had something wrong.  Only saw it once.

I have seen an owl in real life. It was getting dark and I saw a huge bird that look like it had ear tufts that was sitting on top of a pine tree that was in my backyard. Right away I noticed it was the Great Horned Owl was so fascinating to see since I never seem them unless I hear them at night. I was on school trip for college and we went to a park that kept wildlife that were injured and being taken care of. I noticed they had raptor birds and an Owl that was the Barred Owl.

I was a young girl when I had my first owl sighting. It was a picturesque, snowy, winter day, when a barn owl landed on the top of my wooden swing set, on full display. My grandmother and mother called me quietly over to the window to see. I was completely captivated; it was the most magical thing I'd ever seen, and thus began my love for owls. As an adult, I still remember that moment like it was yesterday but would do anything to travel back in time to experience it once more!

I live in South Jersy and spend many days and nights at the Jersey shore. However,  I have never seen an owl.

Thanks for this course!  We lived several years near Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park and had many chances to see Great Horned Owls.  In the summer of 2013 some chicks were trained just outside our yard.  Sometimes we would wake to find one in the eaves above our front deck.  I grew to love them!  We moved closer to Denver in 2017 and I was treated to my only Snowy Owl sighting in an irruption.  There were birders flocking from all over to see it hanging around Standley Lake just after Christmas.

eastern screech owl, north of Boston, MA, October 2021

My husband, daughter and I were camping in Sebastian, Fl. a few years ago.  As we approached our campsite after fishing... we were surprised by 2 very small owls on a branch above us.. I suspect they were screech owls, yet I never heard them ...   We are living on 2 acres in central Florida.. we do see owls very rarely. I am loving trying to figure out what kind they are. Currently, I believe we have seen a barn owl... it was massive and the mate was nearby as well. I took this course to attempt to encourage them to stay, and to identify more species as we explore in the evenings.

Owls have always eluded me. I kept hearing others talk about their sightings but I never could see one myself. This summer that finally changed when this Barred Owl took off out of some underbrush right next to my daughter (scaring her in the process with its great wingspan). All was good, though, because he posed for photos after…

We live in north Texas and have Eastern Screech Owls that nest in our yard every year. Unfortunately, the male (a red morph) disappeared this past spring- I feel certain the victim of a Great Horned Owl who hunts in our yard. This was the fourth year the pair had made our yard home. The female is a grey morph. We named the pair Chidi and Eleanor after characters in the comedy, The Good Place. After Chidi’s demise last spring, Eleanor quickly found a new mate - another grey morph who was smaller than Chidi. They had only two chicks this season. A small brood compared to some years where there were four. We keep a nest box and it makes a safe place for them to raise their young. Eleanor has a favorite holly shrub she sits in most days - including today October 30th. She’ll hang around until spring and we’ll be eagerly awaiting to see if the replacement mate comes back. The photo is of her last spring trying to tolerate my curiosity and camera. 

We had a pair of great horned owls that hooted by our bedroom window (in Amagansett, NY) at dusk and dawn for years.  In the summer of this year they were continually chased away by crows.  We haven't seen them in a while but I pray they will return.

We live in Orange Beach, AL, and our home is situated along a bay with a marshy back yard area. We have great horned owls in our cul de sac, and they often spend time in our pine treed front yard. For the last few years, they have overtaken an Osprey nest in our neighbor’s pine tree in the back marsh. It’s so exciting to see and hear them all year long, but especially in the winter and early spring when the eggs are in the nest. Once the young owls have hatched, we are glued to the binoculars as we wait to catch a peek at the little ones. The owls have become accustomed to us in our yard as we watch them sitting in our trees, and even after one had just caught a rabbit. I was fortunate one morning when one of the young owls must have ventured out and landed on our back porch near our bird bath. It stayed there until mid afternoon, and it knew I was in the house close by watching it.

Was lucky enough one year to have barred owls nesting in my neighbors' yard. The parents came over to hunt frequently, sometimes coming within 10 feet of us on our back deck. We watched the chicks grow up for 2-3 months until they flew away. Unforgettable experience. I will forever love barred owls. 

Yes, many times. But one especially memorable occasion was almost 30 years ago now, while hiking around in the winter woods, here in NH.        It was February, late in the day and just for fun, I had been following some coyote tracks in the snow. I stopped in a very dense thicket of small hemlock trees, searching for where the tracks had gone. I had been mostly looking down, but here I was looking at eye level at the thick, hemlock foliage and to my surprise suddenly came face to face with a tiny saw-whet owl sitting on a branch!  It was very close, I could have almost touched it, but it did not fly away. It just sat there, very still except for slightly turning its head and looked right at me. We must have stared at each other for about 10 min. The light was fading and temps. were dropping so I was the one who finally broke the stare and quietly backed away, leaving the adorable little owl in peace. I will never forget it!                           (Unfortunately, I have no photo other than the one in my memory!)

Respected Sir Kevin, 1.     Firstly I want to thank you for the excellent curated course on the Owls. A highly researched and easy to learn about the amazing world of Owls has left me spell bound. In my personal capacity I submit earnestly that this course has unfolded many a leaning despite the fact that I have been observing owls and tried my best to study them on my own by observation. 2.     I came across an owl while I was in one of the North East region of India KOKRAJHAR its is in ASSAM state. There locals are mainly BORO Tribe. One day while walking past I happen to see this magnificent bird Spot- bellied Eagle Owl  perched on the courtyard of a bamboo hut. The family greeted me and narrated to me how it had found this chick who was helpless after fallen on the ground in the near by jungle, it was being attacked by other large bird and hence they got it home. They feed it with live rodent, frogs, cricket and fish. ( the tribes themselves consume them) They were amazed to know when I told them it is one of the birds of prey and is on the top of food chain in this jungle. They were kind enough to follow my instruction but sad later when I told them they have to set it free in its habitat as it is not a pet. I was happy to see the bird was not captive, chained or tied but I did fear it would loose its birds instinct as it was very habituated with the Kids and the family members. Incidentally the tribe call it as good omen. 3.     The Bird (still young) has very sharp and long talons and a very unique eye as it is wearing shades. The ear tuff appears to long for the age. The wing span is quite large and is well feathered despite the bulk it appears this particular bird weighed approx 1.5-2 kg. (I had no measurement device at that moment the data is self assessment) The digits are very strong and the talons can rip any thing in the wild. The has a good curvature to tear of flesh the hind digits and talons are as strong as front which can easily carry a prey. It is a tall Owl. The Bird would stay in the shade most of the time in day, but as the evening would fall it would come out in the open and would perch on branches near by tree. 4.    All the above are my observation and may not tally with learned research works. I once again thank you for the wonderful course. Please let me know how can I ask quarries? As of now my query is, Is Buukbook and Barking owl same species? Pardon me for my ignorance. Thanking You Yours Sincerely Krish @Krishnandu

Western Maryland Swallow falls state park

We have Western Screech Owls and Great Horned Owls near me.  I have seen Great Horned Owls nests with owlets and a Great Horned Owl alone.  One night I was throwing a ball to my dog in the backyard when something swooped down and tried, I think, to attack the ball.  I was quite surprised and saw the bird fly into the lower branches of a nearby tree.  I could see the eyes of the bird from where I stood and could see it continued to watch the ball as I threw it to my dog.  We later figured out it was a Western Screech owl.  It was late at night so I didn't get a very good photo of the western screech owl, but I have several pictures of the Great Horned Owl families.

I once saw an owl at dusk near the Ottawa River when we were on a White Water Rafting trip. It was an awesome sight. Now that I have spent some time with this course, I believe it was a Barred Owl. It lives in that habitat. Some people from Puru who were on the trip, said that it was a bad omen to see an Owl. I thought it was incredibly cool.

I have seen a Great Gray Owl at Sax Zim Bog in Minnesota during the winter. A stunning site.

last year i had the great fortune of having a great horned owl in my elm tree in the backyard . Initially, I thought it was a cat. but then it moved and i knew right away it was an owl. i had lived in the city all my life for 40 plus years and i have not ever seen one owl. i would sit outside at a far distance just watching this owl. I was fascinated about learning about owls.  I have taken pictures, and recorded this owl "hooting" at dusk. Such a great gift. My neighbors who are indigenous, say that it is sometimes regarded as a death omen, but also of new change growth, and wisdom. It was actually this owl who inspired me to look at birds and learn more about birds and i became quite passionate about birdwatching. I did not see "Buddy" as I affectionately named it all that winter. Then, this year i hear a great horned owl calling again outside my window. I looked up and there was his same coloured great horned owl. Could this be the same one i saw last year? I will never know.

Hello. Thanks for the course, I have learned a lot. Yes!. I have had the opportunity to see several owls in the wild. Several that have appeared in the course, less the striped owl. I share some photos of the owls that I have seen in my country. I hope you likes it I also remember very especially my first owl, when I was barely 7 years old, my father came to the house where my grandmother lived (in a rural area of Saboyá, Boyacá, Colombia) with one of my uncles, they whispered among themselves and then they called us to see a little "snowflake" a chick of Megascops choliba, since then my love for owls. Black and White Owl Stygian Owl Striped-Owl (juv)

My wife and I have been photographing the family of Barred Owls that live in Mead Botanical Gardens since 2013. My wife did a great oil painting of the mother owl in 2014. This is the father owl, on the ground next to me, then in mid 2019. 

I saw a Great Horned Owl when I was a volunteer working at a monarch reserve.

I have loved owls for as long as I can remember. I have seen one Great Horned Owl in the wild, and some in my time as a volunteer at my local wildlife rehabilitation center in Texas. I will never forget how incredible it was to see an educational Snowy when I lived in Vermont, at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.

Western Screech-Owls actually sparked my interest in birds! Last summer, I found an abandoned Western Screech-Owl baby on my front lawn. I took it to a local wildlife center, where they gave me a patient number for the bird, and I kept checking in on it by phone until it was released back into the wild! Another owl I've seen in person is the Great Horned Owl. A family of them had a nest in my neighborhood, and I've attached some photos of them!

I have seen a Great Horned Owl but not in the wild.  Athena lived at our Museum of Science and History along with assorted mammals and reptiles native to Texas.  She was a magnificent bird that had probably been rescued.  That was 35 years ago so I don't remember her story.  Athena did inspire me as a docent to present a "cart" talk on owls.  Too bad I didn't have this course when I was doing my research!  At least one of the docents did take Athena to the lobby where we made our presentations.  I never did.

I have seen a Snowy Owl once, and a very small Owl. I am not sure which one it was. A few years ago I was visiting friends in the country, and we sat around an outdoor firepit. Some species of Owl was quite verbal and would fly near us and land in a branch. It was too dark to determine what it was, but it would fly a little ways away and return always making this sound that actually was very scary. We eventually went inside thinking maybe it had a nest near by and we were considered intruders. Funny how sounds like that are so much more frightening in the dark.

I live in central Kansas.  For several days a couple summers ago, a barred owl visited the willow tree in my back yard.  He appeared to be picking off the cicada carcasses left behind on the bark and occasionally appeared to be eating insects off the ground.  I was able to water plants on the patio while he sat on the lawn under the tree watching me.  We had a one-way very softly spoken conversation. The tree was severely damaged in a windstorm later that summer and a significant part of it had to be cut away.  That seemed to totally spook him, and he didn't return.  So sad. I also had the good fortune to see a snowy owl on a utility wire very early one morning on my way to work.  Incredible.  I wasn't sure it was real, but I did some research and discovered there had been other sightings in the area.

I caught fleeting glimpses of owls when living in rural southwest France and savoured their magical, eery night-time calling. I'm thrilled to be learning more about them.

My first meeting and what sparked my fascination with these elusive birds happened at the age of ten. My Dad called me out to the edge of our farm home lawn. We ever so slowly and quietly peeked through the low branches of a young tree to see a sleepy Saw Whet. Magical moment. Decades later now, in the darkness of night a huge owl stood right on our front deck just 8 feet from our front door. Since I have an admiration of the Great Grey owl I hoped this would be one, even though I live on the edge of their territory. I estimated that he stood about 2 feet tall. My presence scared him off a little but I guess his curiosity caused him to stop to have a good look at me. With the dim light on our deck I could see his black eyes and realized he was a Barred owl. Amazing to be so close to such a beautiful creature. Often I hear the Barred owls and Hawk owls here. Thrilling.

I had an owl land in a tree near my house and stay there for an hour or two. It didn't leave!!!

I have not seen an owl. My father has seen barn owls which have been featured in this course. Some time ago he saw one at 5 a. m. which was a barn owl( I was not there). Some weeks ago my family heard a hooting. I do not know the owl but I hope to see one in real life.

When I was camping with my parents and one time I was at work I saw Barred owls.

My husband and I had a regular nesting pair of Eastern Screech owls in a tree near the house, for many years. While home recovering from and injury from April until July I was able to observe daily activity. One morning I saw an unattended owlet perched on the back of a deck chair, it eventually hopped off and proceeded to walk and hop to the tree line east of our house that separates us from a small wetland area. I was so concerned I was checking all morning until I heard a noise above me and there was the parent staring at me with those intense eyes as if to say "go home lady I got this."  We have since lost the huge branch that they used and no longer have this amazing event.

I think I saw a Great Horned owl several years ago when I was living in southern Maryland, but it was dusk, and it was kind of far into the woods.  I couldn't be sure.  Years later - I now belong to a Birding Club, and the lifelong birders running the group are teaching us a lot.

I’m lucky enough to have two nesting pairs of barn owls that live within a couple blocks of my house in an urban area in Sacramento, CA. I always look for them at night, but sometimes I’m lucky enough to catch a glimpse in the daytime! It always spits it’s pellet out around the same time every morning.

I've seen a spotted owl when visiting my cousins.

In 2018 in Battle Ground, WA while walking in a wooded area behind my house I viewed a very large, tall, owl in the top of the trees looking down on me.  It was early evening and there was a bird nest in a tree close to the ground which had an egg in it.  The mother was upset I was so close and made quite a ruckus which caused the owl to be agitated as well and finally flew off.  Quite exciting for an evening walk.  I believe it could have been the Great Grey Owl.  I remember being impressed by it's size.

I had never seen an owl in real life until about two weeks ago. I was out for my daily evening walk when something flew across the road directly in front of me.  It looked a bit too large to be a bird, plus it was dark.  Very carefully, I approached the tree where I thought it might have landed and sure enough, it was a small owl (front facing eyes, ear tufts, about 7 inches tall). Could it have been an Eastern Screech?  I was thrilled!!  Wish I’d had my binoculars with me.

I was at a cottage in Healey Lake, Ontario, Canada and I saw an Eastern Screech Owl. I also heard one when I was at the Maitland, a river in Ontario. I couldn't get a clear photo of either because the first was during sunrise and it was shadowed, and I never saw the second.

A Snowy Owl in March11, 2021 at Finger Lakes Regional Airport in Seneca Falls, NY. Photo by Cindy Massicci, Ithaca, NY  

I have never seen an owl in the wild.  I live in New York City - and there is/was a Snowy Owl in Central Park this winter (Jan 2021).  There was tremendous fuss over it - which is ignored - now i am sort of eager to go see this Snowy Owl now that i realize how special this occasion is.

This winter has been a great one for owls around Montreal. Since January 1st, I managed to see all the species that can be find around here. Snowy owls are regular around here in winter. The Great gray owl has be seen twice this year (one for me) which happens one out of four years or so. I saw also two Northern Hawk Owl (rare), one Boreal Owl (rare), one Northern Saw-whet Owl and one Long-eared Owl (regular but unfrequent), 8 Short-eared Owl (abundant this year) and the residents: Eastern-Screech, Barred and Great-horned Owls. A very good winter!

I have been lucky to see Short-eared Owls hunting/flying low over a meadow at dusk ... an Eastern Screech Owl nesting ... Great Horned owls twice, once nesting ... and another time, a family group of 2 adults and a fledgling near a nest ... and quite a few Barred Owls, which seem to be fairly prevalent in the mid-Atlantic where I live.

I was able to visit a Raptor Wildlife Rehabilitation Center back in November 2020. I do wildlife photography on the side so getting to see these owls who were in situations where they were unable to released back in the wild was really inspiring. Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and the Eastern Screech Owl red morph. In the wild, I saw my first Great Horned Owl nest in May 2020 which was so special, but I've seen/heard them a couple times around dusk. In December 2020 I saw my first Short-eared Owl. Three were hanging around the local airport and they were so stunning to see! My first owl sighting ever was actually on accident! I was on a drive by the beach in July and there happened to be a male snowy owl on chimney. I thought it was fake until I saw all the birders around and it turned its head and looked at me! 2014, and it really helped me get into photography. This past January I was able to see one Snowy owl a few times and she has such a happy almost comical looking face. However, in early January, I had stopped for a red-tailed hawk who was eating a small rodent on a pole. Out of nowhere this Snowy Owl flies in and steals it. Swallows it whole! What she didn't realize, is that there was a pair of red-tailed hawks. They started diving in an attempt to get it away and no one else was around! Just my mom and I and I have to say it was so amazing and shocking because it was within 50 ft of where I stood! I couldn't ask for a more special moment and I'll treasure it always.

The first night we spent in our new house, my husband heard the hooting of an owl.  We turned out the lights and looked out the bedroom window to see the silhouette of 2 great horned owls on the branch outside our window.  We never saw them again.  It was a lovely welcome to the new neighborhood. Another dramatic sighting occurred as we sat on our porch on a summer evening, waiting to watch a lunar eclipse.  As the sky held onto the last of the day light, an owl came and perched at the very top of one of the pine trees in our yard.  An owl and a lunar eclipse in one night!  Such an event inspires the search for meaning.  I settled on simply acknowledging that the universe is filled with awesome wonders and we are fortunate to be a part of it.

I absolutely love seeing everyones photos!!  Here is my first time seeing a Snowy Owl. It was at Sachuset Point in RI. Then this little adorable Sawhet was at a owl banding workshop. She was the only one they got that night and she was beautiful.

I love owls so much!! They are so graceful and captivating!! I have seen Great-Horned, Barred, Sawhet, Screech and Snowy Owls in my birding career and look forward to seeing more. Probably my favorite is the Snowy as they are pretty rare in my area. Also the Barred Owl is a long time favorite. I can actually make a pretty convincing Barred Owl call and once called a curious one into my yard. Looking forward to more owl adventuring!!

My desire to see an owl began with reading Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen to my children.  It’s been fulfilled in my neighborhood wanderings in the suburbs of Albany, NY:  a pair of Great Horned; a trio of baby Saw Whets; a Barred Owl.  We hear a Screech Owl in the dark of early morning, but have never seen one.   To anyone who has any association with young children, I recommend reading Owl Moon with them.

In college there was an Eastern Screech-owl I loved to go watch. All the local birders knew exactly where it lived, a common phrase was "I wonder if the owl's in today!". Check it out! (2015 Wildwood Park, Bridgewater, VA) - Cory Leigh Rahman

I have seen Burrowing Owls, Great Horned Owls, an Eastern Screech Owl, Barred Owls, Short-eared Owl, and a Long-eared Owl so far in my birding career.

My Great Grandpa, Uncle, and I were backpacking in Idaho by the Soldier Lakes. We were building a fire when my uncle suddenly said, "Look there's an owl under that tree!" We looked and on one of low hanging branches of a pine tree, I saw it: A cute little boreal owl. He was very calm, and let us observe him for quite awhile. We were even able to get several pictures!

I have seen 14 owls overall.  Four were seen in Panama. I have seen all eight available in my adopted home state of Ohio.  I also have seen a Great Gray Owl in Alaska, and a Burrowing Owl in California.  My favorite Owl observation came in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in February of 2015, my big year(287 species).  A fellow(Ron?) from San Antonio(originally Oklahoma) showed me around all day.  When he retired for the day I wanted to go around on my own.  I did not quit until the issue was forced by darkness.  In my last moments birding that day an owl flew right by me and landed in a tree a little above and about ten feet from my head.  I think there were some walkway lights lending just enough light to clearly identify this bird as a gray morph Eastern Screech-Owl.  This capped a grande day indeed.

I recently saw a Barred Owl, which has been discussed in the course a bit, in my backyard.  It was trying to catch a squirrel, around mid-day, and it sat on my back fence for quite a few minutes, enough to get some not-very-good photos of it, one of which I've inserted below.  The experience convinced me to invest in a new camera with a zoom lens so that I could get better photos of birds.  Unfortunately, I have not yet seen that owl again, but it was very exciting to see it for those few minutes.  I had heard its call several times in the last year, but that was first time I had seen it.

I found a Northern Boobook(Ninox japonica) in China. And I noticed how long the tail for a boobook!

We have had great horned owls nest in a cliff wall accross the street from our house the last 2 years. They came out and sat by the opening of the nest for a week or 2, staring at my chicken coop. Sure enough, this was the owls fledgling flight, it flew in to the chicken run then couldn't get out. Quite an ordeal!

I found a medium sized owl with his wing entangled in a barbed wire fence on 1-8-21.   He had ear tuffs and was a mottled grey/brown.   I approached him and he fluffed up and turned his head and looked at me with the biggest eyes Ive ever seen.   I gathered my supplies then covered him with a bath towel.   I was able to cut his wing loose.  It didn't bleed, I just cut one feather and some down.  He flopped backward with both wings extended.   I tried touching his feet with a stick , hoping he would release the wire but he didn't.    I went on with running my dogs and when I returned in about 10 minutes he was sitting upright on the strand of wire.   He was a bit wobbly but still hanging on.   I called my husband who was working at the barn to come and see.   I was surprised how scared he was of the owl and told me how dangerous he was.    I left for about 1 hour and when I returned he was gone!   I love birding and have always counted it a blessing to see an owl.   Now when I run my dogs I wonder where he is and if he is watching.   Nice to share this story with other bird lovers.   My grandkids love my crazy adventures.    It was a nice blessing during a perilous time.  I saved the feather

I saw this Barred Owl in a nearby state park.  I went back several times during the next two or three weeks and he was in the exact same spot.  Once he was gone, I never saw him again.

I live just a few blocks from the UW-Madison campus (40, 000 + students). It's a very old neighborhood with lots of old trees. There's a huge Blue Spruce in our terrace. One summer afternoon I was watering my window boxes when something flew onto a lower branch of the spruce (10 ft up). I guess it surprised me because it was a silent flier, not like the crows in our neighborhood. Turns out it was the an absolutely adorable Saw-Whet Owl. It sat there for several minutes--long enough to get my husband and daughters out to see him. A beautiful memory. We also hear Great Horned owls, especially on very cold, still nights. I haven't been brave enough to bundle up and look for them.

I think one of the most memorable times I saw an owl was at a graveyard the day after my grandmother passed away. It was a Snowy, perched on a post overlooking the graveyard...not only was the bird beautiful-but as owl are considered to be psychopomps in some lore...a meaningful sighting as well.

I hear barred owls regularly where I live just south of Dayton, OH, but alas, I’ve yet to see them. I did see great horned owls just outside Gardiner, MT during a teacher fellowship at Yellowstone National Park in April 2019. We heard them outside the hostel where we were staying a couple of nights in a row, then someone spotted one of them in a tree near the hostel and we all got a good look. I loved hearing them calling to each other in the night.

I've not seen an owl in the wild but that is one of my goals in taking this class. I often hear owls in the trees around my house after dark or sometimes at the park around dusk. I live outside of Allentown, PA. After listening to some of the owls in this lesson, I'm fairly certain that the owls I hear around are great horned owls.

The first owl I saw in real life was a Barred Owl. I was birding in a park favorited by joggers and trail runners. Two joggers went past me early in the morning then from behind I heard a scream. I turned to see a barred owl flying up from the head of one of the joggers as they continued on. I had to move a bit to get the owl in my binoculars at which point it swooped at me as well. As cool as it was to see it in flight, and head on, when I realized it was coming in for the attack I was quite scared. I managed to get a picture after that and was swooped two more times in the process. At that point I realized that this was one angry owl and decided it was best that I high tail it out of there!

We have heard Barred Owls near our home in southern Maine for years. Last year we were fortunate to see both an adult and two juveniles.

We were having trees trimmed in our back yard and we discovered a Western Screech Owl (I think) hiding among the foliage, he/she was almost invisible.  Unfortunately, we never saw him again.  I guess there was too much human activity.  We now have an Owl box, hoping it will lure the owl back.

How lucky was I that a snowy owl visited our town near Burlington, VT for about two weeks this past December.

I went on a guided owl trip to Amherst Island just outside of Kingston, Ontario some years ago.  The group were able to go into a very thick grove of pine trees, one at a time, so as not to disturb the owl which was roosting there, a long-eared owl.  On the same trip we saw a saw-whet owl.   There is a great place to bird watch in Ottawa, where there have been Great-horned owls nesting in some years, but sadly, once the location of such a nest is publicized, trouble follows.  I was lucky enough to see some of these owls, but in the second year of nesting, vandals killed them. That was a difficult lesson for birders in our area to learn and when screech owls nested there in subsequent years, more care was taken to keep the whereabouts of the roosting and nesting sites out of the news.  Even fellow birders were not encouraged to have a look.

Yes!  I saw a Barn Owl at the Red Rock State Park  (CA) CBC This year.  It was roosting in a dense stand of tamarisk trees. We listen for Great horned Owls out our bedroom window when its warm enough to crack the window.

I don't have a picture for obvious reasons because I would hear this owl very early in dark mornings when taking my dog outside.  I am fairly certain it was a Great Horned Owl by the sound of its call.  Nothing is more beautiful than being in a fairly wooded area in the quiet of pre-dawn and hearing the haunting call of that owl.  I now know it was a Great Horned because of the information from this course.  Mary Ann Flannery

Yes.  I came home mid-day one day and there was a Barred Owl in the Red Pine tree in front of my house.  I took a picture of it and sent it to the local TV station, which was featuring pictures send in by viewers.  They used it!  The owl hung around for a while and then ambled off.

I live in Northeast Massachusetts and regularly hear a Great Horned Owl at night time or early in the morning when it's still dark. In addition, I have seen on eBird regular sightings of a Barred Owl at a nearby lake / park area but have not seen that particular owl myself. This lesson did a great job covering Snowy Owls specifically. There is a very well-known wildlife refuge in Newbury, MA called Parker River NWR that I visit regularly on weekends, typically at least once a month. Earlier this January, I had the pleasure of seeing three different Snowy Owls in a group trip through my state's Audubon society. One of them in particular was a very good view on the ground, and even at one point the Snowy Owl was buzzed by a Northern Harrier! This year there have been many Snowy Owl sightings there, and as a relatively new birder I feel very fortunate to have been able to observe a Snowy Owl there. I hope that when I visit there again very soon I am able to see a Snowy Owl (among the many other amazing birds)!

We live in an area that we see bard owls on a regular basis. We live in a shallow valley in Ballwin, Missouri. The area left established woods and got the nickname Owl Hollow. I have had encounters where the owl is flying over my car when coming home. (Had the moon roof open and he flew low and right over top of the car for a distance). We see families beginning to learn to fly every summer. I Willis love to be able to observe more of were they are living and see the babies as puff balls. They have flown so close while walking my dog that they almost touched my head. (And my dog is a lab so they aren’t going after her). owls fascinate me and I do believe there are more species in the woods. I just don’t know where to look.

I managed to see a bunch of owls this year! All at Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto. Close to where I live. At the start of the pandemic in March I stumbled across a Long Eared Owl in a tree, a snowy perched in a Great Crested Cormorant nest and another blending in with some cement rubble on a peninsula. In November I saw a Barred owl roosting in a tree and a female Snowy on a white branch stalking some Pipits. And One day in December in stumbled upon a Roosting Great Horned and a roosting Northern Saw Whet about 4 meters from each other. I got a quick picture of the Saw whet and quietly backed away onto another trail and literally 15 minutes later I walked by a Juvenile Snowy (maybe 1 year). 

Was lucky to see a Snowy hunt the fields near our house one winter as a kid.  Spotted a Barred at my patch in central IL this week (25+ very angry crows led me right to it).  There's a Great Horned in the area too, but I've only heard it. 

I have had the great good fortune of seeing up close and personal - the Snowy,  the Great Horned, Barn and Saw whet and Barred. Each an amazing precious experience.

I don't understand how to move through the 14 exceptional birds EXCEPT to click on each link in the list beneath the photo. You seem to suggest  there are to be 14 images (1 of 14) - focused on some exceptional characteristic BUT there is no way to scroll through 14 images EXCEPT as stated above to click on each link. Are we supposed to deduce what makes each bird exceptional based on our readings in eBird and/or All About Birds? Is this REPLY TO BIRD ACADEMY the way  I enter the discussion ?? Where might I expect to receive a REPLY FYI my email is brandon.dolores@gmail.com

I almost cried when I saw this beautiful Snowy  Owl.  It was sitting on the spillway near a very large lake.  I definitely kept my distance.  (someone said lots of people were getting much closer and she didn't seem to mind - but I wanted to stay back - I was just in such awe of seeing something so magnificent).  It was about 20 degrees on the day I saw her - but for the time I stood outside looking at her - I never once thought about how cold it was!   

I've only seen two owls in the wild. The first was a Great Horned Owl I saw at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, VA in the autumn of 2014. It was in the morning. I spotted a large number of crows who were plainly "mobbing" something so I went to see what it was. I was able to get several good photos before the crows chased it deeper into the woods. In the winter of 2014-2015 our area had an irruption of Snowy Owls and I saw one of them who was perching regularly during the day in a local backyard. I was able to see this via a friend of the homeowner but I was sworn to secrecy regarding the specific location to prevent a mob of people from showing up.

Yes.  I was very surprised to see what I believe was a barred owl sitting on a branch outside my living room window along the Schoharie Creek in upstate New York.

Yes, I have seen a spotted owl while camping in the Sierra Mountains and a great horned owl in a coniferous forest flying under a moon lit sky.

Yes! Was so joyfully surprised last Fall to come around a curve on a back-wood dirt road and see a Barred Owl snoozing in a tree near the road. I hear them in the timber surrounding my house at night in all seasons - have only seen this one time.

I have seen quite a few owls because I am retired and have been fortunate to be able to travel to several other countries to see birds.  (Back when one could travel -- this is early 2021!)  We once saw a Spectacled Owl in Panama and I got the first photo below.  I don' t recall realizing this at the time, but I must have been looking at the owl's back.  I just learned from this course that the front is buffy and un-streaked!  Owls are tricky with their ability to turn their heads so far. Speaking of their heads, I also took the second picture, in Mexico, of the back of a Pygmy Owl's head -- showing the false eyes. In this case I was looking at the front of the bird and seeing the back of the head!   (I think this is a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, but in the place where I saw it it could have been one of a couple of species.) And lastly, here is another picture of the same Pygmy Owl.

I was lucky enough to see many snowy owls in the winter of 2013-14 just north of the US  Canada border on Boundary Bay.

I snapped these breeding season urban and suburban Great Horned and Barred Owls in Albuquerque and northern Virginia, respectively.

Unfortunately I’ve only seen Oakley, the great horned owl at the Cayuga Nature Center.

Great Horned Owls are numerous in our woods. This one in March 2020 was perched at sunset quietly hooting

I spotted this Eastern Screech Owl in January perched on a Crabapple limb illuminated by the light from a nearby building

I met Tank the Sub-Arctic Great Horned Owl at a falconry experience at Hawkeye Bird and Animal Control, outside of Toronto.

Great Horned Owls, Barn Owls, Screech Owls, Burrowing Owls and Elf Owls are common when I live in Baja Arizona.

Many years back, while out for a late afternoon hike in Connecticut, two great horned owls flew overhead like ghosts.  That was my one encounter with an owl so far.  This winter, 2020-2021, we have several Snowy Owls wintering in my home state of New Jersey.  I have been on the lookout visiting a variety of locations but have been lucky enough to find one yet. As well, I have been spending a lot of late afternoons around sunset on the hunt for other owls but so far, no luck.

We have had Great Horned Owls on our property for a number of years.  I have been able to observe them roosting in spruce and sycamore trees near our house.  I think it is a nesting pair and that the nest is in a spruce tree on the edge of our field.  I have seen two owls roosting together in this tree and we enjoy listening to the duet of hoots between the male and female.  I have also observed one of the owls catching prey by swooping from a tree branch to the  ground and carrying the prey off in its' talons. The only other owl I have seen up close is an Eastern Screech Owl that was sitting in the entrance to a cavity on a branch in a sycamore tree on near our house.

This guy/gal is a frequent visitor to the woods behind our condo in Calgary, Alberta

When I lived in the Western suburbs of Boston, abutting a wetland, we had barred owls in our area. I saw one almost daily for a couple of years.  One day I saw two barred owls sitting on a tree together.  One of them was stroking the other around the eyes with those enormous talons. The most striking owl I saw there was a snowy owl, sitting on our fence post late one snowy night.  It was so imposing that the dog would not go outside.  We watched for a while and then it flew down under the bird feeder, through at least 6 inches of snow and came up with a mouse.

I saw a barn owl in a barn at Wakamatsu Farm in Placerville, California back in 2017. I've seen borrowing owls in a field outside of Sacramento. I've seen a spotted owl in Georgetown, Ca. and I've heard owl hoots in wooded areas of Tahoe.

In Sonoma county, CA, I have seen barn owls in a water tower. Otherwise i can hear a pair of great horn owls nearby my house every nights and hope to spot them during daytime after following this class🤞

We have Great Horned Owls in Berkeley/Oakland, CA, hills.  I have heard a nesting pair call to each other in the tall Monterey Pines and Redwood trees in the Berkeley hills neighborhoods.  There are lots of canyons with streams throughout this area.  Also hear Red-tailed Hawks high up but mostly they are in the Tilden Park Regional Parks area.  Barn Owls have nesting boxes in Cesar Chavez Park on SF Bay, though rare to see.  Also Burrowing Owls make ground nests there at this Bayside Park seasonally (winter).

We recently were able to have a very close experience with a Barred Owl in Winnipeg. It was sitting beside Omand's Creek (frozen), about 10 feet up in a dead tree. We were able to get quite close to it. There had been a Barred Owl calling across the river recently. It might have been the same bird in its range. It was beside our creek for several days.

Only at a bird rehab facility and at the National Aviary

My partner and I rescued a Great Horned Owl in Vermont. We transported her to Vermont Institute of Natural Science where she was rehabbed. When she was ready to be released they allowed us to do the honors very near where she was found in Charlotte, VT. Pretty cool!

Only once have I seen an owl.  It was in the Okeefanokee swamp in GA, USA.  I could not identify it, but it might have been a great horned owl.

I am 6 years old and I live  in Dubai.I went to the aquarium and I saw an owl with white feathers, short legs, and it was shaking its head from side to side.  It was dark in that part of the aquarium and the owl was awake.

I have seen and heard Barred Owls in Southwestern Ohio. We used to try to call them saying "Who Cooks for you? Who cooks for You all?" Sometimes they would hoot in response.

I frequently hear and rarely see Barred Owls near my home in Arkansas. I have also heard and seen Great Horned Owls here, but much more seldom. One of my greatest owl memories is seeing a Great Horned up close and personal on a misty autumn day in the Rockies of Colorado. It was one of those magical moments in God’s creation!

Great Horned Owl in North East Ohio, USA. I was looking for a woodpecker when I turned and saw the Owl, One of those WOW moments!

I have seen a barn owl on my backyard fence. The owl has been featured in this course.  I'm in Perth, Western Australia.

I saw a Great Horned Owl several years ago, and I've heard one near my home recently, but have not been able to see it. I was also fortunate to see a Burrowing Owl this summer at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge.

I live near a golf course near Phoenix, AZ  with at least 50 burrow owls.  We watch baby burrowing owls emerge from a hole across the street from our house every year.  They spend the majority of their time in our yard as they are learning to fly.  This type of owl has been mentioned in this course.  They are very social and even have mating dances and vocalizations that I haven't really seen people talk about anywhere.  I have also seen male burrowing owls fight each other over females in the spring.  Here is a picture of one of them.  I really enjoy watching their antics as they are very cute and make many sounds.  One sound in particular is like a rattlesnake.

I have seen quite a few owls in my life. When I was a child I found a red morph Eastern Screech-owl sitting in the bushes right at eye level. It was asleep and hardly opened it's eyes as I looked at it. It was intriguing and seemed like something out of an imaginary world to me. I will never forget it! Now I run in the mornings before the sun comes up. It is fairly common to hear Barred Owls. Many times I have heard them their courtship calls which get very emphatic and interesting. From time to time I see them but mostly at that time of day I hear them. I used to have a big light in my backyard that would automatically come on at night. The bugs would come to the light and a Barred Owl would come and catch and eat the bugs on a regular basis. Over the years I have seen the Barred Owls many, many times. I also have seen quite a few Great Horned Owls, including juveniles who recently left the nest. I once saw a Great Horned Owl swoop down and grab a snake out in the national forest. When in Belize this past March I saw both a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and a Spectacled Owl. Both were very special memories!

Last year I went on a guided program to spot short-eared owls. This fall I went to various locations near my home to find Northern Harriers since I know they like the same habitat as the owls. Three weeks ago I saw my first, "I found it no one showed me," owl. I also have seen a Barred Owl that is a bit of a celebrity because he likes to hang out during the day where people can see him from a boardwalk in the Great Swamp. And I was fortunate to attend an owl banding session for Northern Saw-Whet owls. All of this was in Central NJ.

this was taken 7 years ago, last time we saw an owl in our back yard. I think it is a Barred Owl. We live on 40 acres of forest but in total with our neighbors there is more than 160 acres. We hear the Barred Owl every year and the Boreal Owl. Used to hear the Great Gray but haven't in several years. We are in Eastern Manitoba Canada.

We have Barred owls nesting on and  around our property. We live in the country in Southwest Wisconsin.

The balcony of our 3rd floor apartment over looked a heavily wooded ravine, and we often heard a barred owl there. One evening we heard it out there and tried mimicking its call. After a few calls, three barred owls came flying out of the woods and perched on branches not far from our balcony. Easily one of the coolest things I've ever experienced!

I have seen snowy owls near my place in open fields east of Toronto for past 3 winters. They also like to hang out at marinas on Lake Ontario. They are magnificent to watch!

Great Horned (at a distance - living in a ravine by our house) also, on a yearly basis at Presque Isle S.P. They've raised 2 chicks each year & can be observed from a paved path - watched over by Presque Isle volunteers to prevent humans from getting too close) Bad pic of chicks in nest. Barn Owl - Belize (chicks, too) at Lamanai Outpost Lodge. Discovered by our guide Barred (Presque Isle S. P. Erie, Pa.)   Snowy - Presque Isle S.P. off the entrance to the channel a few years ago. Have one this year (2020) I haven't seen except photo online.

In the wild I have only ever seen Great horned Owls but I am really hoping someday I see some other species.

• I see this Great Horned owl sitting up in a tree in my backyard in Central California frequently during the daytime. In the early morning hours I get up and see it up on a pole that over looks the agricultural fields over our back fence, and at dusk, I have seen him there too. I have noticed less of the field mice making it into my backyard this year, and am thinking I have this guy to thank for that.

I've seen owls on evening walks and while cross-country skiing. I suspect many were the great horned owl common to our region.

I have seen an owl a couple of times: once in the jungles of Ecuador (pictured below) and once, a great horned owl, in the woods behind our house in Cherry Hill NJ. I tried to imitate the call of the great horned owl and, likely by coincidence, it flew closer.

I have never seen an owl in my life except in pictures. I really want to see them.

Last year I noticed a Barred Owl while on my deck - we live on a ravine in Wisconsin. A pair of owls frequented the neighborhood.  So my husband made a nesting box and we put it up a week or so ago to see if they might use it.

I was camping with my family at Greenfield State Park in NH and we were sitting around the campfire at dusk and an owl swooped into the tree right at our campsite.  I believe it was a Great Horned Owl.  I didn't have my camera handy and it probably would have been too dark to get a good picture, but it sure was exciting.  Another time I was getting out of my car at about 10 p.m. and I heard 2 Great Horned owls conversing back and forth right in the woods behind my house.  I just stood in the driveway and listened to them as I could not see them.   It was awesome!

I have seen seven of the thirteen Owl species in Arizona. The most elusive was the Mexican Spotted Owl. I was lucky enough to find a pair.

I’m originally from Puerto Rico where I had the opportunity to observe in 1983 the Puerto Rican Owl, and Short-eared Owl during field trips as they were hunting some bats. When I moved to the USA to attend grad-school I saw in 1988 my first Great Horned Owl near the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, and Barred Owl at the UNC Chapel Hill campus in 1989. In 1997 in Maryland during the Midwinter Montgomery County Bird Count I found a gray Eastern Screech-Owl looking out a Wood Duck box. In my first trip to Costa Rica in 2004 I observed and heard a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. I moved to California in 2007 and joined the faculty at UC Merced where in campus I had the opportunity to observe Burrowing Owl and Barn Owl. After I moved back to Maryland during the irruption in 2013, I followed various birders and saw my first Snowy Owl. For several years I have looked between November and December for the Great Gray Owl in Yosemite and Northern Saw-whet Owl in Maryland but as of yet not seen either but have found some regurgitated pellets indicating they were around.

On New Year's Eve, we were gathered around our small fire pit in Seattle when we heard the calls of what we think were the Barred owl. We followed the sound to a tall maple tree in a neighbor's yard and were able to watch the owl's shadow for a few minutes before it flew off soundlessly. As it was flying away we got a good look at the wing feathers when the light shown on them.

I am pretty lucky in that there are frequently barred owls that can be heard and seen around my house. Last spring, there was a nest and I got to see the young owls when they were learning to fly! Also, there has been a snowy owl hanging out in the town over from me here in Vermont that I've been able to see multiple times. Owls are fantastic!

We have Great horned owls in our neighborhood - we hear them often but only see them rarely. We put up a barn owl box last year but haven't enticed any to move in yet. Hopefully this year. I have seen an eagle owl (during the day) in Kenya. Would love to see more owls!

I was lucky enough to see a Snowy Owl just before Christmas in Eastern Ontario. Love the Snowy Owls.

• 

Hello I have a Great Horned owl in my backyard, I love birds they are wonderful.

I have been very fortunate to observe and photograph Barred, Great Gray, Great Horned, Snowy, Northern Hawk and Eastern Screech Owls.

I saw an eastern screech owl, Chicagoland region. I was working late, left the the building that leds into a park and right there at the entrance was the owl perched in the tree, lit up by the park lights. It was really cool. I also hear a lot of great horned owls especially in the fall and occasionally will hear a screech owl.

During the irruption year I saw a snowy owl flying at the edge of the woods less than a mile from our house. I’ve heard great horned owls in our local forest outside downtown Philadelphia. I am always looking at suitable nest trees in hopes of seeing an owl. I would love to see or hear a barred owl—they are around here. I find recordings of their call hilarious, especially when two of them get going.

I have been fortunate to see the following owls: Brown Fish Owl, Spotted Owlet, Jungle Owlet, Dusky Eagle Owl, Barn Owl, and the Indian Scops Owl. Once I was walking home at night, something told me to look behind me and just as I turned around, I saw a Barn Owl fly silently towards me. I don't know what it is about owls but I get a thrill each time I see them.

I was fortunate to see a Snowy Owl receiving rehabilitation at the Vet College on Prince Edward Island, but had to wait years to see one in the wild in Southern New Jersey.  For the Spring and Winter bird counts, I owl and pick up a Barred Owl and Great Horn Owl.  One of our urban parks has a pair of nesting Barred Owls who produce 1 to 2 owlets each year.

I saw a large owl at the San Deigo Zoo CA that was used during a wild bird show to demonstrate how silently they can fly. It was released from the back of the tent and you did not even hear it flying down to the stage.

I have seen both a Great Horned Owl in a Pet shop in Pennsylvania in the 1970s. I presume owls are no longer allowed to be pets. I have have also seen barn owls in trees and when we moved into a house near Bethlehem, PA we found a dead barn owl in the tree that had grown close to the house when we removed it.

A large owl was stunned or injured at the end of our dirt driveway on the side of the road. I live in Maine and called "Avian Haven" a nonprofit wild bird rescue/hospital in Palermo,ME. They advised us how to move it . As we were placing the owl in a large cardboard box , the eyes looked at me  and moved its wings, we had to let go and the owl flew off beautifully.  I have seen a great horned owl in Alaska. It sat on a branch of a tall tree for quite a while, but I didn't have a camera. A snowy owl near Logan airport Boston. I live on 15 acres near a state park and hear owls frequently...would like to see one here.

I saw a barn owl nest in my backyard, but there were no eggs or owlets. there was one grown up though.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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!

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!

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.

Two short-eared owls hunting in Delta, BC.