Female Great Horned Owls have a higher pitch than do males, so it is easy
to separate them doing a duet.
-Jamie

> I have two Great Horned Owls that I hear about every other night calling
> back and forth. They usually start at dusk and go for 20 minutes and
> will oftentimes start up again around 4:00 a.m. and go until almost
> dawn. They usually move around quite a bit as they are hooting back and
> forth. I was assuming it was a male/female pair but everything I am
> reading says females are usually quiet until just a few weeks before
> nesting begins. It's still a little early for that and they don't seem
> to be homing in on any particular areas so I'm sure they are not ready
> to nest yet. Could this actually be two males trying to establish
> territory? The only times I have heard them hooting close to each other
> it is too dark to see or they are too far away so I have been unable to
> compare their sizes. But, sometimes they do sound as if they are quite
> close to each other as they call back and forth. Any great horned owl
> experts out there that want to venture a guess as to whether I have a
> bonded pair or just males trying to establish territory?
>
> Cathy Wise
> Clearview, WA
> cathy.wise at cingular.com
>
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Jamie Acker
Bainbridge Island, WA
Owler at sounddsl.com