Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Barred Owl

For this weeks World Bird Wednesday  and Nature Notes I am posting on the Barred owl hubby and I saw on a walk at Riley's Lock. The Potomac River and the C&O canal trail has been a great place for me to see birds. During this walk we saw two Barred owls together. One flew away but one stayed in a tree near the trail and watched us. We saw many other species of birds on our walk but the owl was my favorite sighting.


The Barred Owl is seen in  mixed woodlands and swamp forest. They prey on insects, vertebrates and amphibians.  Their call sounds a lot like "who cooks for you" .




The photo above shows the owl looking down, we watched as smaller birds were determined to make the owl leave and were trying to dive bomb him or her.

To see more great birds please visit Springman's World Bird Wednesday  and Michelle's  Nature Notes thanks to Springman  and Michelle for hosting and thanks for stopping by to see my post.

48 comments:

  1. These are beautiful shots, Eileen. I seldom, if ever, get to see owls. Used to hear them during the day or early in the mornings but none in the past few years. I have decided to become a follower. I hope to learn more about birds I never get to see.

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  2. FANTASTIC capture! What a magnificent creature!!

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  3. Fantastic images! What a joy for you to view such an awesome creature.

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  4. i adore these owls. we get quite a few of them here and once in a while see them out during the daytime. they're not shy. :) and i love when they get to calling and barking to each other. sounds like you're in the jungle listening to monkeys or something. :)

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  5. Cool shots of the owl, Eileen. What a find!

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  6. Howdee Eileen- How very cool!! Don't know if you get on twitter much these days, but, this post went wild on twitter. ..everyone enjoyed the photos very much!

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  7. Oh wow that's a gorgeous owl!! Love all the photos!

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  8. The way you captured them, they are strange looking birds - alien and a little scary. Great photos!

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  9. Hi Eileen, I have seldom seen any Owls here where I live. I think you have taken some great pictures of this extremely interesting bird. Have a wonderful day!

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  10. That is a beautifully marked bird. What a lovely sight:-)

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  11. Oh Wow! Oh Wow! How gorgeous were you just jumping up and down on the inside? lol!
    How many times can I say gorgeous?
    Thank you for sharing such amazing photos!
    meggs

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  12. Wonderful, I'm envious. I rarely sight an owl though I hear them from time to time.

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  13. That third shot is excellent!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  14. I will also see an owl! Very beautiful, and great photographed.
    Have a nice day :)

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  15. Awesome sighting and photos! Wow!

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  16. Awesome shots! I hear owls sometimes, but never get to see them.

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  17. oh, that is a very close and beautiful encounter, I very seldom see owl here, and I always jump for joy when I see one.

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  18. Fantastic captures Ellen. Those little fellows diving at him have more guts than I do! This owl was really checking you out. What a moment!

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  19. Beautiful photos, Eileen... The last one especially is incredible.. Love the little Barred Owls.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  20. I like the look on its face.
    Great shots.

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  21. Great pictures. It is always fun to catch them in their natural elements.

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  22. Great pictures. You have an eye for beauty.

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  23. Fantastic views of the owl, Eileen.

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  24. Hi there - I like the pictures where the owl is looking straight out of the picture - you cant help but wonder what is going on behind those eyes.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  25. Hi Eileen, thanks for your continued visits to my blog. For the past ten days I've been trying to comment on yours and keep having to sign in. I know this has been a blogger problem recently, but it's your blog and two others which I cannot upload comments to. I hope this one arrives in your postbox! I love the Barred Owl. Imagine seeing an owl in broad daylight and that it stayed put for your to photograph it. Have a great day. Jo

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  26. Lovely captures Eileen. He certainly has a 'stare'. :-)

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  27. Absolutely beautiful captures Eileen! We see the Barred Owl in Maine during the winter months, but I've never captured a photo of one.

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  28. Eileen, What a major cool sighing! All your captures are wonderful!!
    I often see them on a power lines but have never been able to get a photo.

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  29. What a beautiful bird to see... lovely images.

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  30. Thats amazing to see him in broad daylight!! Terrific photos too!

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  31. must ahve been fun to watch. As long as nobody got hurt. :)

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  32. Great shots of the owl. What a wonderful thing to see and photograph.

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  33. He's adorable. He doesn't look real - he reminds me of an owl sculpture my mother kept in her garden.

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  34. Wonderful encounter, Eileen, plus you got some really good photos. I was very surprised the first time I saw one of these guys during the day, but I've learned it's not uncommon to see them in the light.

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  35. They are such an unusual bird with their eyes facing the front. I wonder why they are called "Wise"?

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  36. You are so lucky to see such beautiful creature in the wild. Great photos.

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  37. These are wonderful shots, Eileen!

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  38. How wonderful to get such shots. At dusk I hear the owls in the swamp woodland behind our house, but rarely if ever get to see one.

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  39. Fantastic! You got him in whopping good detail,nice close up at the bottom.

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  40. Awesome photos, how lucky you were to see this beautiful owl. I have only seen owls a few times in the wild but would love to see them more often.

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  41. Excellent captures of the Barred Owl Eileen! I love that shot of the bird looking down. Those dark eyes always make these owls look so mysterious.

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  42. Oh what a great catch and real treat... Michelle

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  43. Beautiful shots of a beautiful beautiful bird. you're such a talented birder and photographer -- thanks for sharing.

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  44. Beautiful photos. Big controversy here- Barred Owls are competing with Spotted Owls and some say they should be, er, eliminated. Good luck with that!

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  45. Hi there. Great pictures of the Barred Owl!! I live in Toronto, Canada, and this past Sunday, my wife, Jean, and I came upon a Barred Owl in Rouge National Park, near Markham, Ontario. This was the second time in six weeks that we have come upon, and filmed, an owl out in the wilds. The first was a Saw-Whet Owl. Prior to these two sightings, we had never seen an owl in its natural habitat. Needless to say, it has been an exciting six weeks. Our pictures and video of the Barred Owl sighting are posted on our blog at: http://frametoframe.ca/photo-essay-barred-owl-sighting-markham-ontario/

    Our pictures and video of the Saw-Whet Owl sighting are at: http://frametoframe.ca/photo-essay-northern-saw-whet-owl-sighting/

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Hello, thank you for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.

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Have a happy day, Eileen

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