The Barred Owls Are Back!

Every summer, a pair of Barred Owls raise a chick or two on our property. They are a regular sight soaring across the lawn, dropping down to snatch some unseen critter, or just hanging out in the oaks or on the power line to the house.

This summer, they seemed absent. I could hear them call from the woods, but I was missing the closeup familiarity from previous years. Where were they? Had their nest failed this year? Did new, but pretty quiet neighbors disrupt their habits?



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Then two days ago, I heard the distinctive whiney screechy call of the barred owl chick. It was nearby in my oaks, but out of sight.


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Yesterday evening, just as I was carrying the "turtle nursery" up onto the porch, a barred owl swooped silently across the yard to perch in an oak just a few yards away.

Yes!

The barred owl is back ...




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... and boy is he ticked off!