I have been spending a lot of quality time with Barred Owls these past few
weeks. This is my busy time for censusing the population and banding the
young.



Two nights ago I was on a wayside lane in a forest. There were three large
snags that were taller than the surrounding trees, about fifty feet apart
that served as perches for two young Barred Owls as they sortied out in
short flights. It was that wonderful time in the evening when there is
still light enough out to see, but dark enough for the owls to be active. A
bat flew down the lane, slightly below tree top level, and the two owls
seemed to give chase, displaying incredible maneuverability for recent
flyers. A bat returned several minutes later, and once again the two flew
in pursuit. An amusing show, as they had no chance of catching the bat.



A month ago a tailless Barred Owl showed up outside my wife's studio window
at 11 AM. I assumed it was the male that I had been feeding, last seen two
days previous with a full tail. Upon closer observation, I noted that the
bird was not banded. I caught her and got her processed and banded prior to
release. She has hung around ever since, receiving two mice a day. She
generally hangs out in a maple tree outside my garage over the driveway. I
have been recording her tail growth, along with that of her mate who also
appears regularly. They had a failed nesting this year, and are molting
now, rather than during juvenile dispersion.



Yesterday I spent a good part of the day in the garage with the door open
while I was building a kayak, and got to observe her more than I normally
do. At one point in the early afternoon, she became fixated on something
high in the sky, and I could see her following it. I stepped out of the
garage to see what she was looking at. After a second or two, I detected
the eagle that was very high up, cruising north. Her eyesight is much
better than mine. An hour later, she did the same. When I went to look,
she was watching a Red Tailed hawk go by, but this bird was not near as high
as the eagle.



J. Acker

owler at sounddsl.com

Bainbridge Island, WA