A Visit from an Owl
Posted on December 30th, 2008 – 12:01 PMBy Jim Williams
A Great Horned Owl was in our backyard this morning. It was brought to my attention by a pair of crows. They were harassing the owl, calling loudly, occasionally making short winged forays at the big bird. The owl sat calmly, facing away from me until I took a dozen steps from our back door. It then pivoted its head 180 degrees so I was looking at its back and its face at the same time (see photo). We haven’t seen or heard a Great Horned Owl here for some months, although for our eight years here there has always been at least one of these birds in the neighborhood. We are well into courtship season now (Great Horned Owls nest much earlier than other resident birds), so the owls are likely to be more vocal if not more active. I’ll have to start paying more attention to night sounds, and hope the crows continue to do location work for me.
14 Responses to "A Visit from an Owl"
Isn’t it early for owls to be courting? When do they start nesting?
could this be our Owl?
Fabulous picture–and what a wondeful description. Thank you for sharing!
I have been hearing owls in our neighborhood near Minnehaha Creek and Xerxes Ave. since the week of Thanksgiving. Had one calling two nights ago.
About 3 weeks ago we had a Great Horned owl in our back yard in Spring Lake Park. It was in the far corner of our back yard clutching a small critter when I opened the door to leave at about 4:30 a.m. The owl started ‘barking’! I had heard of them making that sound as a defense thing but had never witnessed it with my own ears. We’ve heard him hooting in the night a few times since the barking episode.
Wow. I’ve heard great horned owls hoot, but I’d love to hear one bark. Is that a common sound? Does anyone know why they bark?
I heard an owl a couple of weeks ago that woke me up from a sound sleep. As we have had Great Horned Owls in the neighborhood before, I’m sure it was one of these big birds. Welcome back!
Lisa says,
I heard one lonely owl hooting around 4:30 a.m. two weeks ago near Lake Susan Park. December 26 around 4:00 a.m. I heard two owls hooting in a long conversation; perhaps he found a mate!
We just saw one in our neighbors big oak tree last night, and then he flew into another tree by our yard!!! Very cool!! We frequently hear the owls and wondered if this one was a Great Horned because he call pitch was much lower…they are amazing birds to witness!! And so fun to have right in our backyard!!
Call me HOOTIE
I was waiting for a few weeks knowing from last year rhese birds were coming. The hooting Edina heard may of been me early am. But then 3 weeks ago I was sitting in the hottub at night and I heard it in the neighborhood so I called out and waited. Not long, looking to the big tree above, it landed above my head hiding parallel with the branch. So I gave it a moment and hooted again, it turned and looked down at me a couple of times.It was hughe I just stared back saying hello. How long do think they will be fooled? I did it twice last year. So my advice , get a hot tub and start hooting, maybe I’ll respond.
Jim, great photo and story. Crows have alerted me to a Great Horned Owl twice in William O’Brien State Park. Since owls fly so silently, and of course aren’t always very active during the day, it’s wonderful the crows helped us out as they did. The Mrs. and I walked along to where the crows chased the owl until they got bored of pestering it. Luckily for us, it was midday and it then stayed put on a low branch so we could view it through the binoculars until we had also had enough.
Thanks to all of you for sharing your owl stories. There is something very special about these birds. A nesting pair here could be incubating eggs before this month ends. February or March would be more likely. Great Horned Owls do respond to a good imitation of their call. They are highly territorial, so investigation of another voice in their territory would not be unusual. I’ve read that owls use their voices to distinguish one from another. Once an owl recognizes a voice — your voice — it may choose to ignore you, already satisfying itself as to your identity, location, and its need for interest or concern. I have found Barred Owls even easier to call in. I sing that song better, however. Barred Owls do not begin courtship until spring.
Another thing — these birds are being seen all over the place. They’re more common than we might think. How little time we spend outdoors at night, however. Incidentally, Great Horned Owls often nest in stick nests built in an earlier season by hawks. These nests, in trees, and the owle using them, are easier to see in the winter and early spring, before leaves appear. Keep an eye open.
Looked out into my backyard last night (7:30pm)and saw a huge creature sitting in the snow. I thought it was a raccoon except for the “horns” on top of it’s head. I am now sure that it was a great horned owl and it was feasting on a rabbit. What amazed me though was how long it was there. It was still sitting in my yard at midnight although it had moved away from the place where it had been originally eating the rabbit. It was now just quietly sitting. I still wasn’t sure if it was an owl because the body of it was so wide. I finally had to step out into the yard and the owl stared at me and then flew into the air, still clutching the rabbit. That is why the body seemed so wide due to it had the rabbit under it. What an amazing site!
