Barred Owl

"Who cooks for you….who cooks for you all?” rings out in the dusky horizon as the barred owl makes his presence known to anyone who is listening. These large owls are the most vocal of all the owls living in North America. At least eight known songs, calls and vocalizations are attributed to this owl, earning it the nickname of Old-eight hooter. Like all animals there are many colloquial names attributed to them depending upon the region in which they are found. In the far north they are referred to as Le Chat-huant Du Nord or the hooting cat of the north. They may also be called the Northern barred owl, striped owl, hoot owl, or my personal favorite the rain owl, because of their love of rainy weather and their tendency to call loudly after a recent rainstorm. Over the past week I have spotted a barred owl leaving a hollow tree directly in front of our house. We have heard this same owl and her mate many nights over the past month calling, often so loudly we are awoken out of deep sleep. I am hopeful that she has chosen this particular tree to nest and we will soon see a new owl family in our backyard. Because of these close encounters with the female each time she flees the tree, I was prompted to write about them this week.

Easily recognized, the barred owl is slightly smaller than the great horned owl, and weighs approximately three pounds, with a wingspan up to thirty nine inches. They are mottled brown or gray and cream with brown vertical bars on the underparts and down the back and horizontal bars on the breast. The wings and tail are barred with white and brown. It is this pattern that earned them the common name of barred owl. They are the only “typical” owl with dark brown eyes, all other typical owls have yellow eyes. The only other owl in Missouri with dark eyes is the barn owl and they are classified in a group all to themselves. Unlike many owls, the barred owl does not have ear tufts. Instead, their head is smooth and rounded, giving them a rather chubby appearance. Ear tufts serve no function in hearing, but instead may be used to give the illusion of a larger silhouette , or in communicating distress, fear or alertness. There is also some who believe the ear tufts break up their shapes in a form of camouflage. Like most owls they are nocturnal but are also known to be active during daylight hours and may be spotted flying or heard calling at any time during the day.

These owls rely heavily on old growth forests

Barred owl eating a rodent

with deciduous hardwood trees, evergreens and in some area’s conifers. Increasingly they have become more synanthropic, adapting well to life near humans. In urban settings where large trees are available these owls have done well and are frequently seen roosting in backyards, and parks. They require hollow trees, broken snags and occasionally the abandoned nests of other animals to create their own nesting site. From one to three eggs will be laid and incubated by the female. The male will keep watch over his family and bring food to the female that she will feed to their offspring. Both parents play an active role in rearing their young. Like many bird species the parents can be particularly territorial and protective of their offspring and will vocalize their displeasure at your presence, or even attack when sufficiently provoked. One such barred owl lived in Salem, OR. This owl frequently attacked joggers at a local park when they would jog near the nest site. The attacks often left talon marks or gashes in people’s heads. This earned the owl a nickname of Owlcapone. Best to give nesting birds their space…especially birds large enough to hurt us. At approximately six weeks the young will begin taking short flights from the nest to nearby branches where they will call incessantly begging for food from the parents in an activity called branching. The parents are kept busy playing hunt and seek as they locate each begging baby to feed it. At ten to twelve weeks of age the owlets will graduate to fledglings and begin flying and are capable of hunting and caring for themselves. They usually stay close to their siblings for many months before finally finding mates for themselves and raising their own families.

Barred owls are found throughout most of North America, with three subspecies. The Northern barred owl is located in the Eastern United States, and the pacific Northwest, the Texas barred owl, is found in Texas and the Florida, or Southern barred owl is found the Southern United States. Historically the barred owl was absent from the Pacific Northwest, but with the expansion of forests throughout the Great Plains along the Missouri River and its tributaries it has allowed the barred owl to expand its range. Finding sufficient foraging habitat, protection from weather and concealment from predators gave them all the advantages they need to head westward into new territories. The increase in forested areas is due to the suppression of wildfires by the European-American settlers and the ceasing of controlled fires traditionally set by Native Americans, plus an increase in the planting of trees. The barred owl’s expansion into Oregon and Washington has created a direct threat to the threatened spotted owl. Barred owls are larger, more gregarious by comparison and compete for food, nesting locations and territories. The smaller spotted owl cannot compete with this new interloper. Many biologists are beginning to recommend culling the barred owl to allow for the spotted owl population to rebound. Another threat facing the spotted owl due to the barred owl is their ability to hybridize. Both owls are closely related and can crossbreed, thus creating a whole new set of issues for the spotted owl population.

The diet of the barred owl is highly variable with rodents such as voles and mice making up the majority of what it eats. They may also eat reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds, and even fish. Many fishermen have reported seeing barred owls roosting and hunting from docks. At least five species of fish have been found in dissected owl pellets including bullhead and bass. They will wade into the shallows of a stream, creek, small river or lake and capture fish and even crayfish. The crayfish eating barred owls often have pink-tinged feathers under their wings. This is caused by the keratin in the crayfishes exoskeleton, much like the flamingo turns pink because of the shrimp it consumes.

We are all familiar with the story of Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad, but what many may not know is she was an avid naturalist and had a deep connection to the natural world. She was known to have used the call of the barred owl to communicate to individuals seeking freedom on the railroad when it was safe to come out of hiding. 

 Several years ago I received a call from a lady I know who said she had an owl stuck in her chimney. It had been there for many hours and did not seem to know how to climb back out and sitting just above the damper clinging to the bricks. At the time I was working at the Conservation Department as a naturalist and after checking with the agents they said it was fine for me to go try and help. I showed up with my daughter to help me and we set to work to try and free this very scared owl from his current predicament. After opening the damper and looking up into the shaft I could see the owl holding on for what appeared dear life. When he spotted a face looking up at him, he was even less encouraged to come down. We debated as to the best way to proceed and finally it was decided to use a telescoping rod to dislodge his feet and hopefully get him to drop onto the soft pads we had put down in the bottom of the fireplace. After several attempts we were successful and he landed with an undignified plop. Free of the chimney we now had to get him out of the house without causing injury to him or destruction to the house. Suddenly he came to his senses and took off flying right for my friends head and she hit the floor with a scream. It was total chaos for several minutes before he spotted the light coming in through the front door. He flew to the door, but was hesitant to fly outside. After some gentle coaxing he finally realized he was free to fly and with those large wings he lifted off and flew out the front door as if he always did these sort of things. Parked in front of the house were two men working on their car. The look on their faces as they witnessed this large raptor fly out of my friends house was priceless. It was an unforgettable experience to say the least. 

Babies have been fledgings in recent weeks to start their own lives in new territories and the song of the barred owl will continue to ring out “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?”