Barred Owl—take III

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Barred Owl—take III

February 16, 2015 by Mike Powell

After a couple of years of searching unsuccessfully for owls, it’s hard for me to believe that I have had three separate encounters with Barred Owls in a little over a week, all during daylight hours. I realize that we are in nesting/mating season and these owls are more active in the day than at other times of the year, but I have been amazingly fortunate to have spotted these owls, especially this most recent one that was perched in a tree when I caught sight of it.

Yesterday I posted an image of this Barred Owl (Strix varia) flying away, which was an artsy kind of shot, but I decided to post some shots of the owl in the tree today, because this was one of the cleanest looks I have gotten to date of a Barred Owl (although I was a pretty good distance away and had to work to find a clear line of sight to the owl).

As you can see from these images, the owl’s head was in almost constant motion as it surveyed the entire area, possibly searching for prey. I am searching the trees as I hike about the back areas of my marshland park, hoping to spot an owl nesting site. The chances of finding one are really slim, of course, but I have been unusually lucky recently, so I’m not excluding that possibility.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, Barred Owl, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Strix varia, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 10 Comments

10 Responses

on February 16, 2015 at 9:12 am | Reply wingedprisms

AH! I am actually jealous! Great shots – I will be on the lookout even more now. Thank you for this post.
cate
on February 16, 2015 at 9:14 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I wonder if that’s the same owl that you’re seeing each time. It doesn’t matter though, it’s great to see any owl, any time. Nice shots!
- on February 16, 2015 at 10:00 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Allen. I’m pretty sure that the first two times it was the same owl. This most recent time was about a mile away from the others, so it’s possible that it was a different owl. Owls fit into the same category as eagles–I will try to photograph them every single time I spot them.
on February 16, 2015 at 1:28 pm | Reply waltersanford

After a long drought, it’s like the flood gates are open!
on February 16, 2015 at 1:32 pm | Reply waltersanford

The nest may be closer to the bird than you think! “Males use a larger territory than females. In suburban Charlotte, the average male’s territory is about 200 acres vs. 100 acres for females. A 200 acre territory would be 0.6 miles in diameter.” http://www.bioweb.uncc.edu/bierregaard/BDOW/basics.htm <– GREAT resource
on February 16, 2015 at 2:42 pm | Reply Birder's Journey

That head-turning behavior? Maybe this Owl is beginning to catch on to what you’re up to ;-D
on February 16, 2015 at 6:36 pm | Reply Penny-Ann Kpch

Incredible. We are in the same neck of the woods, so I do see what you see. The barred owl was here two weeks ago. We get the juvenile Eagles and the eagle couple here on our property frequently, and two juveniles. We had a great Blue Heron on our dock for hours two weekends ago. We have the red shouldered Hawks, two fox visiting daily,Metcalf. You are welcome to takemcamcamp here and photograph. lOVELY!
on February 17, 2015 at 3:14 pm | Reply naturesnippets

Thanks. I needed another owl “fix.”
on February 20, 2015 at 2:30 am | Reply Marie Keates

You’ve had some great luck with owls. Beautiful pictures
- on February 20, 2015 at 7:36 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Marie. I suspect that my luck will be only temporary, but I am happy that I was able to be in the right place at the right time to be able to see the owls.