Barred Owl Neighbor

I’m not altogether sure what thrills me so about seeing owls. Maybe it’s that they are so quiet and secretive. Or maybe it’s that each encounter is so unexpected. This particular Barred owl is my neighbor --well, in the neighborhood, anyway. He flew across my path last week as I was driving home at dusk, moving across the road from one wooded area to another. Last evening I encountered him again during the same time of day, same area, perched on a wire. (But of course it was the same owl.)
As I passed, he tipped his head down, in that funny owlish way, having spotted movement, or more probably, after hearing movement in the grassy area below him. His evening hunt had begun.

Egg laying for the Barred owl occurs in early March and incubation lasts four weeks. Young are soon to hatch, so the possibility of seeing them increases. Owls can sometimes be seen hunting in daylight hours while they are feeding young. In fact, my very first encounter with a Barred owl occurred during nesting season. As I paused on a walk, I looked up and there she was, still, quiet, beautiful, perched on a low tree branch in mid-afternoon, giving me a wonderful look at those amazing, expressive eyes.