Barred Owls Return

Last year in May, a Barred Owl family was featured in this blog. On a foggy April morning this year, my wife and I returned to the woods and she spotted a lone Barred Owl quietly perched in a tree.

I swear I heard the owl say, "Oh, no! It's the paparazzi from last year." For the next six weeks I made frequent visits expecting to see another owl family in one of the many trees or at least see more than this one owl.

Each time I arrived, the owl seemed uninterested in my presence, although I guarantee it watched me closely and was ready to bolt if necessary.

Every so often, the owl closed its eyes, and I thought it was dozing off in a condescending gesture. It was very insulting. I wanted the owl to fly so that I could get a more exciting photo, but it refused to cooperate.

Then, one day after sitting in my car for about 45 minutes, I saw the owl stare intently in my direction, black eyes wide open, and I thought, "Finally, the owl was fascinated by me!"

Wrong again.

Suddenly, in a quiet burst of energy, it shot from its perch and came directly toward my car, and I realized then that Barred Owls hate Toyotas!

It swooped over the hood of my car and attacked something in the brush just beyond where I was parked. I jumped out of the car hoping to get a "kill shot" but the owl reacted quickly and flew up and away to a nearby tree, a possible photo obscured by the many small branches.

I had given up hope that I would see a second owl, but then a few days later I spotted this owl, a more mature looking, handsome creature, perched in a tree located above a nearby pond.

So now I knew that the two owls were probably a nesting pair and there might be a few owlets that will make an appearance soon. I'll keep watching...I'm retired.