They ARE out there!

So the past few days have been frustrating to say the least. I went Monday afternoon in hopes of maybe seeing an owl roosting during the day. Tom at CNC marked a map for me for where the owls are typically heard/seen and indicated what species are where. So I decided to try to tackle the barred owl first.

No such luck.

I wandered around in the woods looking like a crazy person for about an hour and a half and found nothing. No owl, no pellets, no nothing! So then I decided, well owls ARE nocturnal so if I come back during dusk/before sunset they should be waking up and out and about.

Wrong again.

My mom and I wandered around for 2 and a half hours between 5-7:30 on Monday night and found nothing. Again. We even went back in the woods and tried to find the screech owls. Nope. Nothing.

Owls are good at hiding.

So I decided to pack a bag and go and wait for them last night. I took my mom with me again and we didn't leave the house until 8 since sunset was at 8:56 last night. I literally took a blanket and sat on the path and waited to hear the barred owls. My logic was if I can hear it, maybe I can tell where it is and get a rough idea of the roost location. We sat there/wandered around for 2 hours with my phone playing calls for me and everything.

Nothing. Again.

To say I wanted to give up would not be far from the truth. At this point it was about 10:00, it was dark, I had gotten bitten by 2 mosquitoes (one on each hand) and I was ready to call it quits. One of the caretakers came up to check on me because he wanted to make sure I wasn't some hoodlum causing trouble and we started to chat for a little bit. And then, out of no where,

WE HEARD THE OWL!

Clear as day! It sounded just like my recording I was using! The barred owl has a unique call and it is unmistakable. Here, have a listen! The owl starts hooting around 7 sec:

That is EXACTLY what we heard! It was very exciting and gave me the second wind I needed. They are out there, not where I thought the little buggers would be, but they are!

So tonight, I'm trying once more.

But this time, I'm going to go to a row of pines by a duck pond which, according the caretaker I was talking to at the time, is about where the sound was coming from. He said they have been seen over there a lot too. I'm taking my trusty side-kick, my best friend Mariah, and a big flashlight and I am going to find those darn things tonight if it kills me! (But hopefully it won't come to that....) Wish me luck!

Sincerely,

Owl Girl