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A North Carolina Garden Blog

The Owl Checks In

3/8/2013

24 Comments

 
So just who is reading my blog? Yesterday I found out. 
Picture
Come here often?
Apparently this barred owl read my last post about the bountiful food supply in my backyard "Peaceable Kingdom": he showed up in broad daylight yesterday, swooped down for a quick snack in the leaves, then proceeded to park himself in my red maple, where he graciously posed for these photos (all by Ron - he's good, I'm not).  This was quite a thrill, as neither of us city bumpkins had ever gotten up close and personal with an owl before.  

Just who is the barred owl, and what was he doing out and about in the middle of the day?  Time to consult owlpages.com. 

First things first.  He's a killer, unlike the cosmetically-challenged turkey vulture of my last post.  Mainly he eats voles, shrews, and mice, but in a pinch he will also eat moles, rats, squirrels, rabbits, lizards, salamanders, frogs, beetles, grasshoppers - in other words, anything he can sink those enormous claws into. He (or possibly she - the two sexes look similiar) begins nesting in late February, and that's probably why we spotted him - owls are out and about in daylight primarily during nesting season.  His call, recorded here, supposedly sounds like "Who cooks for you, who cooks for all?"  He did not favor us with a performance. 
Picture
The barred owl surveying his lunch choices from a high perch in my back yard.
Making a bird-friendly garden was always a goal of mine.  But I have to admit I was thinking cardinal or goldfinch, not owl.  Obviously some gardeners do think owls, though, or they wouldn't sell owl nesting boxes.  From the looks of the boxes, I'd say they are intended for smaller varieties; at 16 to 25 inches tall, the barred owl is a big boy, and couldn't possibly squeeze into any of these houses.  
Picture
Where's Waldo? The owl's coloring helps him blend in and avoid annoying suburban photographers.
I confess I found the owl's visit strangely validating.  After moving to North Carolina, I reluctantly - very reluctantly - embraced the "work with nature, not against it" school of gardening.  Deep in my heart, I wanted a different kind of back yard (you know, a nice one) but quickly learned that was out of the question under the soggy circumstances.  So I planted tough, wet-tolerant plants, dubbed the yard "rustic," and consoled myself with the abundant frog population.  Now I learn that the back yard I've been cursing for the past 8 years - a swamp adjacent to a forest - is also the perfect habitat for the barred owl.  


Score another one for Nature.  
24 Comments
bittenbyknittin link
3/8/2013 01:49:12 pm

What great pictures! Occasionally I hear an owl at night - it must perch on my neighbor's roof - and keep wishing it would catch one of those wascally wabbits.

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/8/2013 11:44:38 pm

I'll pass along your compliment to my husband. We have a new camera and he's having a lot of fun with it. As for those wascally wabbits - well, the owl probably is catching some, but they multiple like wabbits.

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Laurrie link
3/8/2013 02:43:43 pm

And score one for the gardener!

I mean it, I am impressed. You have worked to make an entire balanced natural system, not just a collection of some plants. What an honor to have that big owl come to your garden. You got great shots of it, but watching it live must have been wonderful.

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/8/2013 11:47:47 pm

Thanks for the extra validation, Laurrie. It did feel like an honor to have an owl in residence. It was a little spooky trying to get pictures - he kept on staring at us in a very disconcerting way.

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Jason link
3/8/2013 03:41:59 pm

That is very exciting, congratulations! Also, great pics, especially the first one. We have yet to manage to capture a photo of an owl in our garden, though we've seen one once or twice. You're definitely doing something right!

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/8/2013 11:51:36 pm

I'm not surprised to hear you have an owl in your garden - you seem to be Bird Central! Getting a picture was sheer luck for us -.the owl wasn't going anywhere and Ron was working from home that day.

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Holleygarden link
3/9/2013 06:03:59 am

How wonderful to have a owl in your garden! Getting a photo of it is even more impressive - they are quite shy, I think. I hope it will make nest nearby! That would be so exciting!

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/9/2013 09:29:34 am

I was really thrilled. For some reason, this owl just stared at us while Ron was taking the pictures. He was high up on a branch, so maybe he didn't feel all that threatened.

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Sue link
3/10/2013 01:49:55 am

What a thrill! Occasionally I hear owls but have yet to actually see one. Great catch on the pictures. The last time I heard one I went to the owl call site to try and figure out what I was dealing with. Turns out it was a Great Horned Owl-another big sucker!

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/10/2013 05:18:41 am

Wow - your owl could beat up my owl. The Great Horned Owl is the biggest and baddest, I think.

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Jen
3/11/2013 05:44:59 am

He is beautiful! I just hope he doesn't choose to swoop in and steal the cat!

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/11/2013 05:51:29 am

Let's hope not. Although your cat is nobody's fool and I think he might get the better of him.

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Jean at Jean's Garden link
3/11/2013 12:35:43 pm

I had a barred owl visit my garden many years ago on an afternoon in late winter. It sat in a nearby tree keeping an eye on me while I hauled in firewood for my woodstove. (I suspect it was really keeping an eye out for the chipmunks and mice who have been known to take up residence in the woodpile.) I found the owl's presence magical.

Reply
Galloping Horse Garden link
3/11/2013 12:46:45 pm

It is magical, if a little eerie. He just stares and stares!

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Anne Himmelfarb
3/11/2013 02:22:10 pm

In my Maryland suburb I've seen deer, raccoons, possums, chipmunks, woodchucks, snakes, and foxes. But I have never seen an owl. It is a great picture.

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/11/2013 03:05:52 pm

I'm sure they are out there; you just haven't seen one. If you walk your dogs in the middle of the night you might hear one, though.

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Casa Mariposa link
3/13/2013 11:47:12 am

Very impressive that you have an owl comfortable enough to hang out in your garden! I've heard owls nearby but have never seen one. Maybe it will solve your bunny problem. :)

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/13/2013 03:14:06 pm

I guess he's more interested in bunnies than he is afraid of me!

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sweetbay link
3/13/2013 02:08:04 pm

Great shots of the owl! We have Barred Owls here too. They've scared me a couple of times -- sometimes they will emit a blood curdling scream before starting in on the "who cooks for you all".

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/13/2013 03:15:34 pm

That sounds positively frightening! I heard shrieks from the woods last fall but assumed it was the foxes. Maybe I was wrong!

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Jennifer link
3/18/2013 03:14:33 am

Maybe I need to change up the subject matter of my blog posts because no owls have ever bothered to read them. There are lots of smaller birds, mice, squirrels, toads, chipmunks (in other words plenty of food), but I have never seen a hawk or an owl. Won't it be incredible if the owl attracts a mate and sets up a nest this spring?

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/18/2013 04:18:25 am

That would be incredible and I would love it! I'm sure you do have both owls and hawks in your yard, given the food supply. Probably they are just very shy.

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Tatyana@MySecretGarden link
3/20/2013 04:24:38 am

Oh, I would love to have this creature in my back yard!

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Galloping Horse Garden link
3/20/2013 07:47:23 am

It was quite the experience. But there have been no further sightings, unfortunately. I'm sure he's still there, just making himself scarce.

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    The Galloping Horse Gardener is a native New Yorker who packed it in in 2005 to live under the radar in Cary, North Carolina. In 2014, she removed to a new secure location somewhere in Raleigh.

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    • Judy's Garden (White Plains, New York)
    • Elaine's Garden (Columbia County, New York)
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