Great Horned Owl - Piedmont NC by sound only. (2 Viewers)

[sbarnhardt]

I have been hearing a Great Horned Owl, or two, very close to my house at night. I say very close because they are real loud at times. Enough so we sometimes wake up at night hearing them. We have numerous large trees in our yard and neighborhood. But I've never seen one and would be surprised if I did, not to say I wouldn't like to. I'd like to be able to add it to my list but will likely never get a picture to be able to prove it. Any thoughts from anyone?

 

[Butty]

I've never seen one . . . not to say I wouldn't like to [see one].

That's my thoughts on your issue, right there - so, everybody happy? Or do you mean that you want to put it on your list without seeing it? - from what you say, you already know it is one, so the power to tick it lies entirely in your hands

 

[sbarnhardt]

That's my thoughts on your issue, right there - so, everybody happy? Or do you mean that you want to put it on your list without seeing it? - from what you say, you already know it is one, so the power to tick it lies entirely in your hands

I was "one-fingering" it on my phone when I originally posted this. Now, I'm on my laptop with a "real" keyboard. LOL

Have I seen one before? Yes, but not here at my house, or "in the wild" so to speak. With them being nocturnal, I have serious doubts I ever will. But I suppose miracles do happen from time to time. I've "heard" them, as I described, any number of times with them being really loud a good number of times. I've gone through all the owl species on the Cornell Merlin app listening to all the sounds, etc. for them all. What I'm hearing at night is "spot on" what they have for the Great Horned Owl "song", so based on that I'm as positive as I can be that's what I'm hearing.

My ability/forte from here on BF/Opus is stronger on the mechanics, etc. of being able to get the site to do/show what it needs to do as opposed to being as good "field-wise" as a lot of you folks are. Therefore, I "ask" questions like this and am very appreciative when others take the time to answer. Like you are! I know the power to tick it lies in my hands, I'm just trying to form a comfortable opinion in my mind as to what the general consensus is regarding "ticking" a species that I haven't made a visual sighting of.

 

[Brad Hacker]

Other than diurnal owls--e.g., Pyg Owl--I've seen more Great Horned Owls during the day in N America than any other, so you do have a chance of seeing it during the day.

 

[sbarnhardt]

Other than diurnal owls--e.g., Pyg Owl--I've seen more Great Horned Owls during the day in N America than any other, so you do have a chance of seeing it during the day.

I'll keep my fingers crossed! Have you seen them mostly in urban or in rural areas? I'm in an urban environment with a significant presence of large pecan and pin oak trees that are in turn populated with a good many squirrels and a few rabbits on the ground

 

[Brad Hacker]

Rural, but I've never lived in a city. If you hear them, they are obviously around and unless they are commuting in at night to eat nocturnal rodents, they are probably roosting nearby. Some of the easiest places to see owls are parks with large, isolated trees surrounded by open areas.
Here's one example and a second

 

[etudiant]

Maybe do a bit of scouting around the bigger trees in your yard and look for owl pellets. That would help locate the tree(s) where the owls are roosting.
Actually spotting them if snugged into a large leafy tree is of course still challenging, but it helps a lot if you can narrow the search.

Incidentally, the pellets, a plug of fur, bone and other indigestible material from the squirrel, pigeon etc. prey, are used by biologists to monitor the owls feeding habits. They are teased apart under a low power scope and the remains then classified. This is done under water, it prevents fungi and such from the pellets becoming airborne and possibly infecting the researcher. bent over his scope.

 

[VonMaunder]

It's a bit more difficult to access some of the owl's other roost spots in an urban setting without upsetting the neighbors but have a good look into the trees you can, you may get lucky. Use satellite imagery to scan your neighborhood from above, pick out the areas with denser tree growth, check whether there is access to them for a scan. One thing about urban settings is the habitat is narrowed down, increases the likelihood of finding them where there is a suitable stretch of cover. I've had far more success finding owls in suburban areas during the day over rural ones-- just too much good habitat in the latter. Good luck!