Welcome to Week #19 of the Bird Weekly Photo Challenge. Week #19 challenge is all about the Owls.
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else’s owls. I do not have any great photos of owls so I will just give you what I have. Owls are nocturnal meaning they are mostly active at night. There are two species that are truly diurnal (meaning they are active both day and night). They are the Northern Hawk Owl and the Northern Pygmy Owl.
Upcoming challenges can be found on my Bird Weekly Challenge Page.
The feature image is a photo of a Barred Owl.
Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owls vary in color depending on what area they are located. They are native to North America and breed throughout the United States, parts of Canada and parts of Mexico. They are considered THE “hoot owl”. Their primary diet is rabbits and hares, rats and mice and voles. However, the Great Horned Owl will hunt just about anything including rodents, small mammals, larger sized mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. They are not picky eaters and will feed their young whatever gets near their habitat. This owl is often compared to the Eurasian eagle-owl. They are large in size at 22″ (55.88 cm) tall.
The Great Horned Owl is one of the earliest nesting birds in North America, often laying eggs weeks or even months before other raptorial birds. Mated pairs are monogamous and they are never far from the nest of eggs or hatched chicks. Most of the time, you will see only one parent with the chicks, but the other is close by roosting on another branch in the same or nearby tree. Both members of a mated pair may stay within the same territory during non-breeding season, but they roost separately. It is hard to tell the male and female apart unless they are together. She is larger in size than he is, but his voice is larger and deeper.
Did you know that when clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s talons require a force of 28 pounds (12.7 kg) to open? The better to sever the spine of large prey.
Barred Owl
The Barred Owl is a resident of the eastern to central part of the United States and has extended its habitat into the Pacific northwest, parts of Canada and Mexico. The Barred Owl is quite stealthy in the air. This owl can go undetected in the dense woods. This guy was watching us walk down the path and I just happened to look up in the tree and spotted him or her.
The Great Horned Owl is the largest threat to the Barred Owl competing for similar territory. A Barred Owl will move to another part of its territory if a Great Horned Owl moves in nearby. Sometimes they can be seen in the daytime like our photo above, but they are most active at night. The sound byte below was taken by me in our backyard in February of this year. There were 10 Barred Owls flying from our backyard to our neighbors tree across the street from the front of our house. It was about 11:00 pm and we could hear them over the television. Frank & I ran outside and was in awe of the movement and sound.
Take a listen and turn up your volume. There will be silence midway through for a few seconds. This went on for about 10 minutes.
Snowy Owl
I featured this photo in the Rare Birds week and am sharing it again today. The Snowy Owl has a regal presence that could have a non-birder come take a look, but for us die hard bird lovers, this is the crown jewel. Juvenile male Snowy Owls are barred with dark brown and get whiter when they get older. Females keep some of their dark markings for their entire life, like the one above. The Snowy Owl breeds in the high arctic. Some will stay year-round on the breeding grounds, but many will migrate southward into Canada and the northern United States during the winter months. This one migrated all the way to Jacksonville, FL for a few weeks, making it a very rare sighting.
The female chooses and builds her nest on a raised site so she can see in every direction while the male defends the territory like a sentry. The nest is a simple depression in the tundra with no lining. A nesting site may be used for several years. The pair can have 3-11 eggs and incubation is 31-33 days. Like many predators, the eggs hatch in intervals so the female can begin feeding one at a time as she incubates the rest. The young may leave the nest after 2-3 weeks but are unable to fly until they are 7 weeks old. The parents will feed them up to 9-10 weeks.
Long-eared Owl
The Long-eared Owl can be seen in every state in the lower 48 states except Florida. It’s range expands into Mexico and up into Canada as well. They roost in dense foliage and camouflage themselves remarkably well. This Long-eared Owl was spotted at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The park ranger came out onto the trail and pointed out where this guy was hanging out. This was a life bird for us and would have easily missed it. The lens is fully zoomed in and the photo cropped from our original location and the best we could get. Just seeing this bird was like taking a kid to a candy store.
Interesting fact: The hoot of the male can sometimes be heard up to .7 miles (1 kilometer) away. This would make it quite difficult to find this bird if going by the call.
Almond Shortbread Owl Cookies
5 years ago when we didn’t have to social distance or worry about being with our friends, I made a batch of Almond Shortbread Owl Cookies for Bunco. I was introduced to Bunco by my neighbor and eventually started hosting once or twice a year. This was around Christmas time and they made the perfect snack for everyone to take home. They are tasty too! I found it on Pintrest back in the day, but I found the original blog by Heather Baird from which I used the recipe and instructions. Check it out here!
If you are in need of a return address stamp and you love owls or know someone who does, take a peek at the Owl Stamp that I sell in my Etsy shop.
Until next week…Week #19 – Birds in your Yard or Garden
Our Eyes Open 
Comments
92 responses to “Bird Weekly – Photo Challenge – Owls”
[…] week, Lisa Coleman’s Bird Weekly challenge features owls. These photos are from a wonderful day a few years ago with Norfolk Wild […]
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I’d love to see a snowy owl! How lucky to get a sighting like that. 🙂
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We were lucky for sure. It hadn’t been seen in Florida in 50 years & only the 3rd time ever. 😊
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Wow, extra lucky 🙂
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Yes absolutely! 😊
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[…] can read more on this week’s on Bird Weekly. The subject is, you guessed […]
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Reblogged this on About the Jez of It.
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Thank you for the reblog. 😊
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Interesting! I have never heard owl talk . Your cookies looks so cute and I’m sure they are very tasty.
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It was wild. When you can hear over your surround sound, that’s pretty loud. I didn’t have a mic on this. Just my IPhone. Those cookies are quite good. 😊
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My owl pictures are very good, I will do a blog with them, later today. Ferruginous Hawk breed in Idaho. They massed in Eastern Idaho before their migratory flight to South America where they spent winters.
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We picked up the Ferruginous Hawk last September in Montana. Was a life bird for us. Look forward to seeing your owl pics. 😊
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I had trouble finding, I spent a good couple of hours looking for them. I will try tomorrow to locate them.
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I understand that. I was looking for some photos today for about 2 hours on every one of my cards. After going through all ten of them, I realized the photos were on my phone. Ugh! Hope you find them because I would love to see them. You have until next Wednesday so whenever it works for you. 🙂
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Love the sound of that owl!
Owls are so fascinating, and sad to say, I’ve never seen one.
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Wow! Well, they are usually out at night. 😊
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Great picture of the barred owl. Here in Oregon, they are an unwelcome competitor of spotted owls.
Your cookies are so cute!
Here is my contribution – owl vignettes. https://bendbranches.com/2020/10/16/owls-in-the-mist-images-poem-bwpc/
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[…] Bird Weekly Photo Challenge – Owls […]
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Fabulous Owl Gallery Lisa 🙂 I only have a couple to contribute this week
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Thank you, Brian. It was the hardest category for me so far. 😊
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Yep me too 🙂
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At least y’all know I’m not stacking the weeks in my favor. 😂
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Impressive shot! 😊💙
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Thanks! I didn’t think any of my owls pics were that good but I suppose they are better than not getting any at all. 🙂
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We are hardest on our own photography aren’t we? 😉 I did enjoy your shots andI liked the barred owl most of all.
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Yes we are! Thank you so much. 😊
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[…] BirdWeekly:…Owls […]
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[…] Owl […]
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What wonderful images! I saw a snowy owl as a child while bird watching with my father, a moment I will never forget. https://dailymusing57.com/2020/10/19/bird-weekly-owls/
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Snowy Owls are pretty incredible. I’d like to go see them in the snow sometime. 🙂
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[…] To see more images owls shared by our fellow bird-lovers visit Lisa’s Weekly Bird Challenge: Owls. […]
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Wow! What a brilliant post. Owls with names I’ve never heard before. And the sound of 10 owls around your house is amazing.
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Thanks Helen. Isn’t amazing how we continue to share out photos & the names of our birds to find that others have never heard of them before? Happens weekly for me now. LOL! 🙂 Oh, and that sound was just off the charts!
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It’s broadening my outlook ( I won’t say knowledge as I don’t retain it all) 😊
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Yeah my memory is pretty bad too. I always say I need a new mother board and a new hard drive because my processor is slower and my space is full. Too much more & I’m going to crash. 😂
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😂🤣
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Sucks getting old! 😂
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Better than the alternative 😀
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True! I’m happy every day I wake up and can get vertical. 😎
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👍
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Wow 10! The most I have seen were the parents and 3 babies.
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It was a wild night. We’ve never seen anything like it. There must have been something in our backyard for them to eat. Or maybe it was just their monthly meeting. 😂. It was pitch black & all we could do is count the pairs of eyes.
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So cool! As far as barred owls go the babies move to an area with 8 miles of the parents, so maybe former year’s siblings came back to visit.
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Oh, it was a family affair for sure! The most I had seen at any point was 2. We thought we had a pair nesting in our trees, but we never really went outside late at night. Just a fluke that we were still up and the chaos ensued. You may be totally accurate on your assessment. 🙂
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If it is a barred owl look for a hole in a tree nearby from 20-40 feet off the ground. You might find the nesting hole where they had their young.
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I don’t know where they were nesting because we never saw them stay in our yard. We have a large neighborhood with a lot of large old trees so they could have been anywhere. Plus there is a nature center 1/2 mile up the road called Tree Hill so they could actually have had their nest up there.
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They only seem to hang out inside a tree when they are nesting. I have found owls sleeping in the daytime on a branch about 10-20 feet from the ground between hunting. The great horned owls with battle it out with hawks to take over their nest.
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[…] Bird-Weekly […]
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Lovely post, Lisa. I have yet to meet a Barred and Snowy Owl, and look forward to those encounters. Your owl cookies are delightful, too.
Happy owling,
Tanja
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Thanks Tanja! I hope you see them some day. I want to go see the Snowy Owl in the snow up north. 😊
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Just the other day I told a friend that I deeply regret not going to look for one when it showed up about 50 miles south of here only a few years ago. 😦
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Yep, that would have been your shot! Or come to Florida someday after the pandemic has stopped! 🙂
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I would love to visit Florida, Lisa. It has long been on my wish list. 🙂
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I hope you get a chance. I suggest March of any year before it gets too hot and humid. Even though the fall is my favorite time of year, it is still quite warm & hurricane season is still active. We may have a storm heading our way next week.
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Thank you for the suggestion, Lisa, I will keep that in mind. I would definitely prefer to avoid heat and humidity!
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You are welcome! It’s brutal the farther south you go & the closer to summer. 😊
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[…] like the instructions. You can get the recipe and look at the blog from which they came by clicking here. Read about my owls if you like, but the link is near the bottom of the […]
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Lovely photos – as usual! And so much interesting information.
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Thank you Margaret! I appreciate that! 😊
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These are just wonderful – love Owls they are so amazing. I might have to add an owl to my bird of prey post coming up in a few days
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Thanks Becky. It was a hard week for me because I just don’t have that many. When are you doing birds of prey?
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Hiya hopefully a few might be coming your way today, as today is my birds of prey day 🙂
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I got one and now it has ended. If anyone does pingback, I will go add them to the round up listing anyway. We are on Birds in your yard or garden this week. 🙂
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🙂
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Nice read with beautiful pictures 😊
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Thank you so much. We do it every week. 😊
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You are welcome, wow, that’s amazing. 🙂 I have seen owl but never heard them. Thanks for sharing 😊
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Glad you enjoyed it! That was the loudest I’ve ever heard them. 🙂
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Yeah it is pretty much clear and loud 😊
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They were right on on top of us. I thought for just a few minutes they might attack us, but it was worth finding out. LOL!
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Wow that was quite close then 😊
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That’s why it was so loud. I didn’t have the mic set up. 😂
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[…] Lisa’s Challenge this week is OWLS […]
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I particularly like your Barred Owl. Here are my Owl photos: https://margaretinuganda.com/2020/10/21/lisas-weekly-bird-challenge-owls/
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Thank you. The Barred Owl has been popular. 😊
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[…] If you love Owls then do take a look at Lisa’s fabulous owl challenge, there are even […]
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Apart from the occasional barn owl patrolling the fields, I’ve only seen owls in captivity, but it’ll be interesting to see what others have captured on camera.
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All the owls that I’ve photographed have been in the wild. There is a barred owl in captivity up at Tree Hill Nature Center about 1/2 mile from here but he was permanently injured so they keep him safe. I’ve never photographed that bird. 🙂 So many to see and so little time. LOL!
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Well, what an achievement to photograph them in the wild. Wonderful.
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It is amazing but rare to see them. I still have the Eastern Screech Owl and Burrowing Owl I want to get photos of that I haven’t been able to get. 🙂
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I’ve met the cookies but I hadn’t seen the original post. Becky’s right- it’s fabulous, Lisa 🙂 🙂
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Wonderful owls and photos of owls. Fabulous post! It’s on Becky’s recommendation that I link my square (for her kinda square chellenge) from yesterday. As I explained, my granddaughters primary school class are owls so I just had to bake these: https://picturesimperfectblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/21/a-kind-of-parliament/
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Lovely pictures and the sound is hilarious.
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Thank you very much! It was quite the evening! 🙂
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Love all images you have of the Owls…Here are mine.
https://100countrytrek.com/2020/10/22/bird-weekly-photo-challenge-owls/
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I almost missed this and got it into the round up as I was finishing up this morning. 🙂
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Yah!!! Love your photo challenge.
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I’m so glad you do! I love it too because I get to see your birds! 🙂
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😀
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[…] The topic for this weeks bird weekly photo challenge is owls. […]
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Not many for this week.
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[…] Last October, the theme for Bird Weekly Photo Challenge was Owls. Read about them here. […]
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