That's Right! A Barred Owl visited Birds of West Cobb 3 days in a row!
As Cobb County (Marietta, Georgia) continues to be developed and new subdivisions, shopping plazas and convenience stores are built, there are less and less mature forests in the area. We are lucky to live in an "older" subdivision that was built in the 1970's, and many of the trees were not removed during construction. I believe this is a great reason for our very diverse bird environment. In fact we have counted over 50 species of birds and at least a dozen mammals in our yard alone!
On occasion, (during late Spring and early Summer) we hear owls at night, but we rarely get to see them. A few days ago I went outside to try and capture some photos of American Goldfinches, at least 45 minutes before dusk. Periodically I look around and zoom in on different areas of the yard when something catches my eye. In this case I saw something with my naked eye that looked like a brown ball of fur or feathers, sitting directly on the fence pickets. I thought "that seems like a really big squirrel" for a second and had to zoom in with my camera to see what it was. I was surprised to find out that it was a Barred Owl! That's right, a Barred Owl visited us. But it gets better! The Owl, (we named it Owlexander) has now been back multiple times over the past few days! (This is the photo I captured the first time I saw Owlexander on the fence, below!)
Luckily we have not seen Owlexander chase any birds so far, perhaps because Barred Owls have a pretty diverse diet and while birds may be a piece of this, they certainly enjoy other cuisines also! We have a decent number of squirrels, chipmunks, spotted a mouse on one occasion, and have also seen flying squirrels in the past. Owls prefer to eat small rodents but will also eat reptiles, amphibians, small birds, and even large insects! Here is a quick video of Owlexander on our fence (nearly 110 feet from the back door where I was standing with the camera!)
Are Barred Owls Active at Night or During the day?
So you may wonder if Barred Owls are active at night or during the daytime? Read more below! At several local parks (Kemp Park, Allatoona Creek Park and Green Meadows Preserve) I have spotted Barred Owls in the past. Usually perched somewhat low in large trees, and they tend to land fairly close to the trunk of the tree. They blend in really well and their feathers help with this camoflage. In fact, as I was watching Owlexander yesterday, he flew from one tree to another and after perching, he took several side-steps directly toward the trunk, before freezing and essentially vanishing from sight. The coloration of the feathers nearly matched the tree bark perfectly and within moments bird activity resumed around him as if he wasn't even there. Barred Owls can be quite active during the daylight hours, depending on their food sources, if it's breeding season or not, and there is always the chance that they were simply disturbed from their roosting place by someone making a lot of noise (cars, motorcycles, leaf blowers, etc).
Where do Barred Owls Nest?
Barred Owls typically nest in natural tree cavities, where limbs may have fallen off or there is an opening in the trunk due to a variety of natural causes (storms, insects, fungus, even lightning!). However, it is possible that they will also nest in a species-specific Birdhouse with very precise measurements for a bird of this size. As an example, A bluebird nest box may only measure 11" tall and 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" floor and a 1 1/2" entry hole. A Barred Owl house however, would need to be approximately 30" tall, with a 24" x 24" floor, and an entry hole measuring 6" across! Look, that's a pretty large bird!
Are Barred Owls Territorial?
Barred Owls, like many other birds, can be quite territorial. They may quarrel over a certain feeding area but most of the time they will mind their own business. However, if they are nesting nearby they may be a bit more intimidating and lash out, especially if they have fledglings nearby and they are in a "protective parent" mode. I was once mountain biking in the woods with friends in Woodstock, Georgia and a Barred Owl starting chasing my friend, right in front of me! We can only assume that we got a little too close on our bikes to a nest or some young owlets.
Thanks for reading our blog about the Barred Owl that visited us this week.
It is very impressive that so many birds visit us here in Marietta, and we see far less cross-species fighting than you might expect! Just this week we also had visits from a Red-tailed Hawk and a Cooper's Hawk. It's almost like the birds have Yelp! and use it to find a good meal in a safe place. Thanks for reading our blog, bird friends!
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