Subject: Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Date: Oct 30 09:07:11 1999
From: W. William Woods - wwwbike at halcyon.com


It was about 10 a.m. Friday Morning, October 29, 1999 when I went outside
to see the progress Bill was making on splitting wood to refill a bay in
the woodshed (we heat by woodstove.) I walked around the house, and just
past the bedroom windows I heard the high-pitched lisps of a flock of
Golden-crowned Kinglets. As I raised my binoculars to look for them (I
always carry a pair when outside the house), I caught a glimpse of an owl.
I could not believe what I was seeing. There about 20 feet up on a small
bare branch of an understory Western Red Cedar, growing right next to a
large, 100-year-old Douglas-fir was a faily large owl, but I could see
right away that it was not a Great-horned Owl. I stood transfixed.
Actually, the owl was so close to me that I really did not need the
binoculars to see the dark eyes as it sleepily opened them to stare back
at me. It was a Barred Owl, complete with what appeared to be nice, fluffy
horizontally-striped feathers (a "bib") around its neck, and dark,
vertical streaks along its light belly. Extending below the branch was the
tail with alternating dark and light bands. What a thrill to see a Barred
Owl in our forest! Although I have heard them in Washington's North
Cascades and in Minnesota's Lake Itasca region, I had never seen one
before. Bill took a picture with his digital camera, and after some
manipulation with software it was good enough to show the Barred Owl's
distinctive features. He did want to approach very closely for fear of
disturbing the owl. During the day, periodically observing the owl out our
bedroom window, we saw the owl move progressively farther out on the cedar
branch until its silhouette disappeared behind the trunk of the large fir
tree. Subsequent chores outside the house allowed us to keep track of the
owl until dark. We looked for him again after dawn this morning (about
8:15 a.m.), but to no avail. He was nowhere to be seen. Thanks, Strix
varia, for stopping off in our forest long enough to give us such an
exciting chance to "look you in the eye."

Erin

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>