Barred Owl – ND #84

Barred Owl – Lehigh Valley Zoo

Barred Owl

During our walk tonight, Karl and I heard the call of a Barred Owl again along the same stretch of woods as last time. We both stopped dead in our tracks when we heard it. (Actually all four of us became utterly still at the same moment, Brutie and Pacha’s senses suddenly on high alert.) It was so weird – two hoots and it stopped. One to get our attention and a second to confirm the connection.

We waited for just a bit, perhaps 30 seconds, before deciding to continue walking home. It’s interesting how l-o-n-g thirty seconds can seem in a situation like that, when you’re expectantly waiting for something to happen that may never actually materialize. It can seem like an eternity!

I find it fascinating that in all our 36 years of living here, we only heard our first Barred Owl ever (here in our neck of the woods) last month. (Follow that link and you can hear the recording I made of its call.) And now, three weeks later, it spoke to us again.

Two New Neighbors

When I looked up Barred Owl on the Peterson’s Guide to Birds app on my phone, I discovered that they are known to not only nest in the hollow of trees but also in the nests of Red-Shouldered Hawks.

I realize that some readers of my blog who live within a 25 miles radius of us do actually encounter Barred Owls often. I assume you also have plenty of Red-Shouldered Hawks too. But they’re both new neighbors to us – and I find it fascinating that they’re known to have that symbiotic connection vis-à-vis nesting.

I haven’t had a chance yet to look them up again in my resources, but given that both have featured very prominently in the skies overhead lately, I think I should.

Red-Shouldered Hawk – Photo: L. Weikel

Red-Shouldered Hawk

I see I wrote about the Red-Shouldered Hawks doing a mating dance over our head(s) back on March 9-10, 2021. I’d never heard their call or seen them before. Inasmuch as one screeched its head off just this past Sunday, literally causing Pacha and Brutus to duck their heads defensively when they heard its call and saw its shadow glide across our yard, I find their reliable sense of timing impressive in its consistency.

I’m just thrilled that both Red-Shouldered Hawk and Barred Owl have decided to come into our lives together this year. I look forward to learning more about what they’re heralding.

(T+84)