Owl Be Watching You...

Barred Owl (Strix varia) watching the forest floor at Radnor Lake

I always count myself lucky to see critters in their natural habitat, so, when my friends and I spotted the Barred Owl on our walk at Radnor lake earlier this week, I was really excited and pleased to get a few photos. (My Canon G12 does a good job most of the time, but, it does have a limited zoom).

 Mr/Ms Barred Owl was intently scanning the forest floor for breakfast. Poor critter those eyes are watching  for you.  I am fairly certain that had there not been a noisy audience of excited walkers, breakfast might have arrived sooner.  We surely scared away any small mammals, rabbits, birds, amphibians and reptiles that are their preferred foods.

Barred Owls are stocky, round-headed, medium-sized gray-brown owls with  no ear tufts and big dark eyes. The underparts are whitish with dark streaks, and the bill is dull yellow.  Sounds so-so,  but, they are beautiful creatures.

Radnor Lake,  with its forested bottom lands and wooded swamps offers all its resident critters the perfect hunting and nesting ground. It's a wonderful place to walk and experience wildlife up close and personal.  If you like birds, if you like waterfowl, if you want to catch otters at play, it's the place to walk.

full grown they have a 40" wingspan

Barred Owls are common residents in Middle Tennessee woodland, including  suburban neighborhoods where tracts of forest remain. Clay and Limestone 's garden and neighborhood fit the bill.  While the garden has a resident Great Horned Owl (hoo-hoo-hoo is their call), I've not seen or heard the the Barred Owl's "whooo cooks for you, whooo cooks for you" call.  I sure wish they were here, I love the idea of an owl hunting during the day and that's exactly what Barred Owls do...

So watch out chipmunks! I am recruiting owls for the garden!

xoxogail

**While not in my garden (dagnabbit), they are widespread in the eastern half of the United States and across central Canada to northern California. (Owl calls)

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone." She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Owls In The Garden

The resident owls woke me in the middle of the night with their hooting under the full moon. Their distinctive hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo identifies them as Great Horned Owls (here for sound).  It could be a hunting pair, or a single trying to find a mate or a simple warning to stay away from my territory!

My spirit soars when I hear them calling. The neighborhood lost a large track of land to an ugly shopping center and I mourned the loss of meadow, woodland and stream for all the displaced critters. The resident owls have never left, but, I do worry that one day they will not live in my garden. I would miss their hoo-hoo-hooing.

source A Brendan Lally photo of the Great Horned Owl

As a gardener and wildlife enthusiast I am well aware that the circle of life in nature and on a smaller scale in my garden is one of predator and prey and owls play a huge role as predators of small mammals.  With their keen eyesight and excellent hearing they can swoop down on unsuspecting mice, voles, rabbits and other critters.  But, they also are known to predate birds, bats and even skunks and possums. Scarcely anything that moves is safe from this owl and when you consider that it has 200-300 pounds per square inch of crushing power in its talons you can understand what a powerful predator it is! (The average adult human male has about 60 pounds per square inch in his hands.)

The Great Horned Owl is one of the most widespread and common owls in North America and is found in the Arctic tundra, tropical forest, the desert and in many of our suburban backyards. Given enough food, water and available nesting and roosting sites the Great Horned is very adaptable.  It's possible that a mated pair may live nearer  your house than you might know!  I've read that if you go out on a winter night and hoo-hoo-hoo loudly you might have one call back to you!

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone."