With the first light snow still on the ground, and with a cold northwest wind blowing, Bob and I chose to get out of the house for a while so opted for a hike. With the luck we have been having lately, sighting birds, it is encouraging and somewhat addictive to go on the hunt for something new.
We decided to head to Canada’s newest National Park, east of us, called Rouge National Park. As this map shows, the park is located in an area through which many rivers and creeks flow towards Lake Ontario.
Despite the air temperature being slightly above zero, globules of ice continued to dangle above the fast moving stream.
Bob and I were hiking along a small creek, called Duffin’s Creek, in Rouge National Park. It was a pleasant surprise to find that snow was still clinging to leaves and, where hidden from the sun, still coated crevices of the trail and depressions in the long grass.
That morning, Bob had predicted, even before we left our house, that we would see an owl on this hike. I thought, yeah, right…just wishful thinking, but his hunch held true!!
We followed the edge of the creek, retracing our route from an earlier hike this spring, and saw evidence in the mud of several deer that live in that forested area. Despite being out there for close to two hours, we had seen no wildlife at all…not even a bird.
As the sun was sinking lower and time was getting on, Bob’s eye suddenly registered an usual silhouette in a tree as he glanced to the right.
There, sitting on a branch, in a tree next to a cornfield, was a Barred Owl. What a pleasant surprise!!
I immediately picked up on its presence, cast my mitts to the ground and turned on my camera. Bob was already filming by then.
At first, we were shooting into the setting sun, but soon cut into the long marsh grasses that edged the field. We slowly circled in order to put the sun behind us, keeping the Barred Owl always in our sights. Slightly smaller than a Great Horned Owl, they have a well-developed facial disk, with dark eyes.
We got quite a few pictures of the owl even as we crept closer, while the owl kept a watchful eye on us. Finally, it decided to fly into a thicket just a bit further along the trail; we were able to follow its flight path and didn’t lose sight of it.
Barred Owls are very common in the United States and central and northern Ontario, however they are extremely rare in parts of southwestern Ontario where only 10 known pairs exist. According to Bird Studies Canada, Barred Owls are elusive birds making them difficult to actually sight and observe.
Bob moves slowly through the long marsh grass as he films the Barred Owl in a distant tree.
In this video, you get a chance to follow the Barred Owl through the forest as we film it.
As we moved towards the Barred Owl, a ruffed grouse burst up out of the brush, crossed the trail in front of me, and then flew into the cedar bush next to the stream. Lo and behold, the owl took off in the same direction but then settled on the branch in this picture.
Barred Owls like to eat small mammals like squirrels, mice and rabbits, and even, on occasion, they will eat other birds like grouse. In the area where we first spotted the Barred Owl, corncobs from the nearby cornfield littered the forest floor. This provided an easy food source for ruffed grouse, rodents and the local Red squirrel population, so this Barred Owl had picked a good location to search out dinner.
Stealthily moving closer towards the owl on its newest perch, we were able to continue photographing and filming while it maintained vigilance over its surroundings. Barred Owls are gray-brown in color, with a round head and NO ear tufts. Adults tend to be around 43-50 cms in size.
Our Barred Owl was not alarmed by us, and made no sound, although once it finally disappeared into the bush, I did hear it utter a few soft squeaks.
It was amazing that we were afforded so many varied backgrounds for our pictures, made possible by the owl’s constant changing of location.
To the west, the sun was setting quickly. We had spent about an hour in pursuit of the owl’s movements.
Once again, it took to the air and flew across the frost-flattened vegetation bordering the creek, where it took up another position above its feeding grounds.
Its plumage was nicely highlighted because the sun’s rays were no longer blocked by trees.
That was an amazing experience! When we got home, I immediately looked up the owl in our bird book, and confirmed it was a Barred Owl, the same type of owl that we had heard hooting in the depths of the night when outback canoeing and camping in Frontenac Provincial Park, in Ontario. This actual sighting was the first time I had ever seen a Barred Owl in the wilds, and only the second time that I had observed any wild owl. And to think that Bob had actually predicted it!!
Checkout some of our other Owl sightings:
Northern Saw Whet Owl sighting
Frame To Frame – Bob & Jean
Beautiful bird of prey! Great job capturing it. Less photos of you and more of birds next time please
thanks, Kylie. The Barred Owl we spotted that day was only the second owl we had ever seen in the wild. We wanted to show the location and conditions as well as the owl itself. Thanks for looking.
Claire Hilscher commented from Vancouver Island
“last week, when getting ready for work at sunrise, there was an owl in the big maple tree, just 10 feet from our living room window. I am pretty sure it was a barred owl. Martin has heard it calling, and the call matches a barred owl too. I said to Martin that this must be a hilscher-thing! We went to get the camera but it flew away when we opened the patio door. First time in my life that I saw an owl in the wild.”
Senoritabandita has made a comment on Coopers Hawk – sighted – in Goldhawk Park TORONTO
What a majestic bird! I found your video and your wonderful blog & photos while searching for video of a Red-tailed hawk seen at Richmond St. W. & Spadina, just the other day. I happened upon several excited people pointing their phone cameras at the top of a parked delivery truck. I walked up just in time to see a large hawk flying away with a pigeon, East on Richmond. I didn’t get a great look, but the previous week I heard a Red-tailed hawk scream, from my office, in the same area.
http://www.youtube.com/user/senoritabandita
Barreds are everywhere! I wish them all a safe journey in the GTA as they spend the winter with us. Nice to see another wildlife blog out there with kind enthusiasts.
Rob
http://robandtheanimals.blogspot.ca/
Bob and I have been following bird sightings over the course of the past few months, and it does seem that Barred Owls are very common visitors to nature reserves and even peoples’ backyards. Did you know that, in British Columbia, a cull has been proposed of the Barred Owls to help save the Northern Spotted Owls? They must be very numerous in that province.
I just stumbled upon this site from the youtube videos. I think that’s pretty cool. I often go to milne and rouge parks too and the wildlife has proven elusive to see! Great job!
Bob and I have hiked Milne Park for years, albeit with our dog for many of those, so I am sure that is why wildlife sightings eluded us then. However, now that we go it alone, our hikes in Rouge and Milne Parks have proved just how diverse is the wildlife in our urban locale. Good luck on future outings.
Bob and Jean! Great shots and a great story. I am impressed you were able to track the guy (gal?) for so long. I have been trudging around nature reserves now for a few years and only saw one Barred Owl near Atlantic City NJ and having extra good fortune, he was tearing into a vole…. check out the gory details here at my blog:
http://travelthroughpictures.com/photo-items/barred-owl-bloody-beak-dead-vole/
Thanx for the shots and story! It may be worth it to go back to try and find his nest. Any local clubs that are aware of it?
Bruce in Philly
Thanks for your comments, Bruce. We haven’t had a chance to go back to that location in search of the Barred Owl, but we did come across another one at Thickson’s Woods in Whitby a few weeks ago. Your pictures of the owl devouring the vole were awesome! You were so lucky to be there at the right moment.
Wow, wow, wow!! What beautiful pictures of an exquisite bird!!
) And to think you saw it in the Toronto area.
I have heard Great Horned Owls calling in the woodlot on our farm, but have yet to see one there.
Since you sent us your feedback, we have actually been able to see a Great Horned Owl in Thickson’s Woods in Whitby. A pair resides in that forest, and as of last week, the female was sitting on her nest. I suspect that the babies will hatch soon. We have yet to hear any of the owls vocalizing. It must sound haunting.
Thanks, Bob and Jean! Liked the fact that you got pics of the back of the owl and its beautifully camouflaged feathers! Looking forward to looking at your other links.
Thanks for your comments. We were very careful to let the lens do the work for us and to keep our distance. It was pretty cool to watch it hunt as it moved from tree to tree. The fact that it immediately pursued a ruffed grouse that suddenly emerged from the brush showed that it wasn’t wasting time on us but taking care of business.
Very nice and lots of fun! This year was the first time I had seen a barred owl too. I have actually seen three different ones…or at least I saw them in three different places…but all in Whitby.
I know what you mean. How does one know if the owl they are seeing today is a different bird from the one they saw yesterday? We actually spotted our second Barred Owl in Whitby, at Thickson’s Woods.