Those of you who read Mark’s blog know we recently spotted an owl we hadn’t seen before and couldn’t identify. I was unable to get a picture as it flew off just seconds after I ran for the camera. We talked about what we saw, looked through all our birding books and checked the internet and are pretty certain it’s a Barred Owl. We’ve been watching the trees every night hoping to catch another glimpse of this bird so we can get a positive ID but it’s been very elusive.
Barred Owl - not my picture but I wish it were!
Last night I was manning the barbecue when I heard a loud ‘POP’ and looked up just in time to see the owl fly off into the forest with a screamimg squirrel in his grasp. Unfortunately, it all happened so quickly I still couldn’t get a positive ID but I now know his appearance last week wasn’t a random event. And…it looks like we’re on the same dining schedule.
So, I’ll be watching the trees at dinner hoping to get a better look at just who’s taking our squirrels. I also have a feeling this same bird is responsible for the lack of flying squirrels this year. We were seeing three or four a night earlier in the spring but now we have none.
rodger dodger 
I actually got a picture of a barred owl on campus a couple of years ago. He/she was just hanging out in one of the courts. At the time I still only had my old point and shoot, so it’s not a great shot, but they are a beautiful bird.
Good luck. I hope you manage to get a good picture of this character.
I’ll second the good luck wished for capturing this beast on….um…pixels. I’ve always wanted to see a flying squirrel, and have never managed to.
who
who who
who who
owls are my favorite sort of bird
how i would love to be amoung some!
Very Cool! I wish you had gotten a picture as well, but the one you found and posted is beautiful. I would love to have a few owls in my area to help manage the chipmunk population that has gotten out of control. They are too cute for me to whack, so I have been hoping for more hawks and owls to take care of business.
Haven’t seen any owls around our yard, but we have had the occasional hawk pop up on our fence.
And if that damn Raccoon destroys my plants and pump in my pond one more time, I swear I’m going to be tacking his hide up on the side of my garage!
One point of view (mine)….is….. This bird by NO means will ever thin out our chipmunk/squirrel population enough to lower our seed bill…..At ANY given time, there are 6-8 chipmunks out under the feeders all day long….This OWL needs to feed earlier in the day.
“Who cooks for you all?” This brought me back to Camp Kern in Ohio, the night hike, and learning the owl calls.
But … did you have to tell that part about the squirrel?