>
> Teresa, it sounds more like a Great Horned Owl to me. They give
> high-pitched calls a lot; I've always thought these calls were
> characteristic of young birds, but perhaps adults give them too. I never
> heard a high-pitched screech from a Barred Owl when I lived near them in
> Florida, while I hear that call all the time from GHOs here. The hoot call
> also sounds more like a horned.

I agree that the hoot call sounds more like a Great Horned Owl. However,
I have heard Barred Owls give screeching calls. Specifically I have heard
this in Northern Minnesota. The calls, which were half a mile away,
across a lake, woke me up. I thought they were a lynx as they sounded
more than anything else like a cat fight. However after a couple minutes
of this the bird started giving classic Barred Owl calls. Of course it is
possible that there was a Great Horned Owl and a Barred Owl in the same
place or for that matter a Barred Owl and a lynx but I at least thought
that it was the same animal or two animals in the same spot (say a young
bird and adult at a nest).
I have also heard (and seen) Great Horned Owls making similar
sounds as well as a Snowy Owl which was similar but much softer.

Jim Elder (jime at eskimo.com)
Seattle, WA