BARRED OWL GALLERY

(Stix varia)

eBird provides this description of the Barred Owl:  Large owl, mottled brown and white. Rounded head lacks ear tufts. Black eyes. Listen for its instantly recognizable “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all” call. Favors large, mature forests with deciduous and coniferous trees, often near water. Hunts small animals at night; however, is more active during the day than other owls.  All About Birds provides this additional description:  The Barred Owl’s hooting call, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?” is a classic sound of old forests and treed swamps. But this attractive owl, with soulful brown eyes and brown-and-white-striped plumage, can also pass completely unnoticed as it flies noiselessly through the dense canopy or snoozes on a tree limb. Originally a bird of the east, during the twentieth century it spread through the Pacific Northwest and southward into California. 

Dorothy and I bought our lakefront property on Lake McQueeney on April 1 of 1999.  Shortly thereafter, I was in the back yard (i.e., the lakeside yard) cleaning up and noticed something lying in the grass at the base of a large, dead cottonwood tree, located on the north fence line of our property.  I went over to take a look and found a baby owl, covered in downy fur/feathers.  It appeared to me to be large for a baby bird.  I just assumed that if I left it alone, the mother would retrieve it and put it back in the nest.  I was wrong, and, after several hours, I began to fear for the life of the baby owl.  A series of phone calls lead me to a wild animal rescue operation in the Geronimo area.  I explained the situation, and the lady came right over and retrieved the baby owl.  When I asked what I owed her, she said nothing, but she asked me to not take down the dead cottonwood tree for at least a couple of months because “I can almost guarantee there is another baby up there”.  She also cautioned against letting Bobo (our miniature dachshund/chihuahua) out at night because “the mother of this baby is capable of snatching him right up”.  I did give her a nice donation, and she left.  Several months later, I got a card from her, and she told me that she was able to save the bird and eventually release it into the wild.

Over the years, I have often heard the owls at night, but had never made an effort to actually see, much less photograph them.  On the morning of Sunday, April 19, 2020, I was up early and decided to sit on the back porch and enjoy the peace and quite.  Much to my surprise and enjoyment, a Barred Owl paid our back yard a visit. The bird perched in the pecan tree near our deck for a while, then flew down to the yard and appeared to eat something from the grass.  It then flew up to one of the pecan trees down by the water and perched there for a while, before flying and perching up high in a tree next door.  I went inside and retrieved my Nikon with a 300 mm lens and was able to take a couple of photos, even though there was virtually no light just before sunrise.  Below are the photos I took.  I hope to get some better shots of a Barred Owl in the future!

On May 22, 2020 I had the opportunity to visit the Houston Audubon Raptor Education Center (HAREC) to learn about and photograph a number of the raptors that live there.  One of the birds I got to experience was a Barred Owl named Juliet.  Seeing these birds up close was an amazing experience that I will not soon forget!

Early on the morning of June 12, 2020, I was able to get some photos of the Barred Owl that visits my yard, for details of my game of cat and mouse we played that morning, see my blog.  Here are some of the pictures I took that morning.  

Just after dawn on the morning of Wednesday, July 1, 2020, I was delighted to be able to watch and photograph the Barred Owl that sometimes comes by my yard.  This morning I spotted him in one of the Pecan trees out front and, instead of immediately flying off as he usually does, he remained perched for about ten minutes.  He then flew to my front gate, went down and got a lizard, then flew to the top of my light post to eat his breakfast.  He then flew to a higher spot in a Pecan tree.  He remained there for a little while, until the cry of a Red-shouldered Hawk encouraged him to move on.  The light was not great, but I managed a few passable photos…

My experiences with the Barred Owl as outlined above gave me a much better idea where and when to look for him.  After my July 1, 2020, sighting, I was able to watch and photograph this Barred Owl in my front yard on July 7, July 10, and July 19, 2020.  Shortly after the July 19 sighting, my neighbor did some substantial trimming on the Pecan Trees where the bird likes to perch.  I went just over two weeks without seeing the Barred Owl, and I was starting to worry that this change in habitat caused him to abandon this area for some of his morning hunts.  I was relieved to spot him on the morning of August 3, 2020, back in his normal area.  I watched him for about 30 minutes…what a relief and what a blessing!  Below are a couple of pictures of my friend.