Crazy Sounds, Heartfelt Eyes and Everything in-between | The Barred Owl

With Affectionate big dark eyes, the Barred Owl is one to see.

🕒Timestamps and questions:
00:00 Intro
00:34 Where are Barred Owls located
01:15 Habitat Barred Owls like
02:10 Barred Owl Identification
03:39 Similar species to the Barred Owl
04:44 Male and Female Barred Owl
05:03 Best times to find a Barred Owl
06:10 Who Cooks for You: Barred Owl calls and sounds
09:07 What Barred Owls like to eat and other feeding habits
09:33 Barred Owl nesting habits
10:08 Barred Owl nest box
10:53 Barred Owl nesting habits continued
11:58 Barred Owl babies/nestlings / fledglings
12:38 Barred Owl population/conservation
12:53 Barred Owl and Spotted Owl
14:06 The oldest Barred Owl

❓Other common questions answered in this video:
Where do Barred Owls live and what habitat do they like?
How to find a Barred Owl?
What does a Barred Owl look like?
What is the difference between a Male and female Barred Owl?
What does a Barred Owl sound like?
What do Barred Owls like to eat?
What does a Barred Owl nest or nestbox look like
How to build a Barred Owl nest box
What do Barred Owl eggs look like?
What do Barred Owl babies look like?
Where do barred owls live in Canada?
What to do if you see a barred owl?
Why is it called a barred owl?

📷Videos and Photos provided by the following (A-Z)

Aaron Hedetniemi

Jack Stutts

James McKittrick

Lesley Brannen
No links provided

Pacificnorthwestkate

Sophie’s Backyard Wildlife

🔗Links:

Barred Owl nest box information from Cornell Lab

Thumbnail:
Matt Cuda (Bird Portion via Canva)

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[DoubleplusUngoodthinkful]

We have a pair of barred owls and they are such a delight. The male ("Barny", as I first met him in my barn) will visit and chat for an hour or more at a time. A few weeks ago, I struck up a fire in our fireplace that we hadn't used since we moved in 2 years ago. A short while later, I heard Barny outside my house calling LOUDLY (not the song...the actual "come here now!" call). I went outside and he got very close and was looking panicked, leaning forward and keeping his wings spread and pointed back. I think he was trying to warn me that my house was on fire. I talked to him calmly trying to let him know there was no problem, and he settled down and went off to hunt.

[Perigrene]

A couple years ago, I found an injured Barred Owl on the road near my home. It was soaked from the rain and was so stunned and passive that I was able to pick it up, put in the front seat next to me the rest of the way home, and then set it in a blanketed plastic tub for the night.

I took it to a licensed vet clinic a few towns over to get looked and and hopefully treated. I knew that its mate lived in my neighborhood and enjoyed their presence. In fact, his mate seemed to know that I had taken him and she kept coming to my bedroom porch for a few days after I had taken him to the vet. Unfortunately, the clinic euthanized him, citing severe and unrecoverable blunt force trauma (likely due to a car).

The day after I got the news, I once again found his mate on my porch staring at me as though she knew. I felt terrible. Bleeding heart that I am, I apologized and explained to her what had happened. As if she could understand me, but it made me feel a little better I guess 🙄. After that I didn't see her except for a couple times the rest of the year. I figured she would eventually leave and find another mate.

Cut forward to last year. I'm coming home from my late night of work and pull into my driveway to find THREE Barred Owl youths all perched on the electric lines above my driveway. In the shadows I can see a small male Barred Owl perched on the power line going to my house. Sitting with the youths and in full illumination of the street light was the female Barred Owl from the previous year.

It felt as though she was telling me that she was ok and I didn't need to guilt myself over her previous mate's death. I sat in the driveway for an hour crying and enjoying the moment. The father obviously very cautious, the mother less so, and the youths all bobbing their heads and looking and me with curiosity. They kept coming every night for about a week and I would sit on the hood of my car for a little while, each time, to watch and be thankful.

I still see and hear the Barred Owls every now and again and hope that they will visit me again this year.

[kyavner]

We love our barred owl conversations while camping here in Nova Scotia. It used to terrify my 7 year old but I would tell him that the owl just wants to know "who cooks for you?" 😂 Now we laugh every time we hear it!

[mc]

Thank you for putting the spotlight on Strix varia. Lots of Barred Owl habitat near where I live, and I can hear them some nights from my front porch. I got to photograph two owlets that had made it from the nest and into the top of a Cypress tree. Their parents kept feeding them while they built up enough strength to fly.

[MuchPurple]

They are fascinating creatures! When I lived in Seattle in a treed area, we had a pair calling to each other who sounded like monkeys or apes.

Thank you, Lesley!

[NOTHEOTHERGUY]

So that's the owls I hear in my woods! They are amazing to hear! (And almost always at dusk and throughout the night)

[toddberg]

I had a barred owl screech just as I stepped out of the door in total darkness- every hair stood on end and my muscles locked! 😳 It took a moment to realize what it was and I laughed. Didn't know they sometimes use nest boxes, will definitely build one for next year... Stunning clips and photos, and the calls were awesome! Thank you for the video (and the outtakes- they were a hoot!)
Have a great evening!🦉

[bethanythatsme]

I reside deep in the Willamette valley, a rainforest in Oregon, and I'm lucky enough to have a pair of giant & gorgeous barred owls frequenting our property. I've only seen them on very foggy mornings at dawn & feel them looking at me before I spot them way up peering down at me. I love listening to them, but I'll yell ya, the first time I heard that screaming type call in the middle of the night, my hair stood on end 😳
Another great addition to a fantastic channel! Thank you, Leslie 🐦

[Suz-e-K]

Iast week in suburban Austin Texas, I had the honor of having 2 barred owls in my backyard trees in the early morning. They were calling back and forth to each other. It was a special moment. ❤

[mitchmatthews]

Another beautiful creation from above! Thank you, Lesley!

[jeffmatthews]

I watched a breeding pair for years in exactly the environment described. I eventually left a lawn chair to sit in within 50 yards of an annual nesting site. The pair would regularly come to watch me sit. If I walked my dog in the same woods one of the owls would follow. I discovered that the dog was spooking mice from under logs and the owl would try to catch them.

They make a peculiar sound when angry or threatened. It is a loud clicking sound, like hammering on a board with a stick. I’ve heard/seen them attack a raccoon too close to a nest. The attack was preempted with the clicking.

Wonderful bird to watch. Thank you for program.

[ludlowworthington]

I have fond memories of camping in the Berkshires, sitting on a mountain top and twilight and hearing various barred owls hooting across the hillside and valleys. At night sometimes one would hoot loudly just above my tent, startling me, but that feeling would quickly be replaced by gratitude for the experience.

[h.s.thompsonduke]

I have at least one pair in the city woods behind my house, and they have been there several years.
During the daytime, they do battle with the hawks, chasing each other between houses and over our pool area.
Come night, they begin with their calls back and forth. By 10:00 PM, they sound like howler monkeys.
By 5:00AM, the show ends.
Soooo cool!

[SandiRose]

I love the sound the Barred Owl makes! Recently I have one living just inside the woods at my house. 18 years I've lived here, and I've never seen one!! Oh well! Thank you, Lesley!!

[leah]

My absolute favorite! Their eyes are so mystical.

[kath]

I love these owls. They are all around our land and I often see one swooping over our creek when I pull into the driveway at night and I love listening to their sounds❤

[francineh.]

I heard the monkey sounds they make and I had no idea at the time what it was I was hearing and they were really loud. I'm not embarrassed to admit it scared me haha as I was alone in my cottage and it was late at night. Felt like I had been teleported to a jungle!

[ericjaye]

Hi, Lesley! Thank you so much for this great Barred Owl video. I have never seen one here in Northeast Pennsylvania, but I hear them often, mostly in late Spring and summer. I was on my computer last year listening to various bird calls late one evening near an open window when I heard one nearby. I happened to be listening to Barred Owl vocalizatons when I received a return call. I played it again, and received another return call. At that point, I discontinued the calls so as not to disappoint the bird if it came seeking a mate. Happily, I heard the call of a second owl that was clearly of the opposite sex. The banter went on for several minutes before fading away. Still one of my all-time favorite birds!

[UncleMike]

I overheard a father talking to his daughter while walking in front of my house. He said: You hear that owl?! For years I thought it was an owl too. Nope doves! 🕊️ Love your channel. You show me stuff that's so foreign to my everyday life. Keeps me tied to nature. Thanks for the vids

[danandtab]

this is my favorite owl. I discovered them by my place in Gainesville FL many years go when I had my window open in January (FL, remember) and I heard what I thought was coyotes howling in the distance, then realized that no, it was some weird birds outside closer. I went outside and saw my neighbors looking up at the trees "It's owls!" they said. The sounds you describe here were coming from all of the trees surrounding our buildings. I did some research on the sounds they were making and learned what a barred owl is. I've since moved a bit north and to a new apartment by some thick woods, and there are barred owls hooting in those woods every evening.