We had a visit from a barred owl today. It’s been quite awhile since we saw one in our yard. It stayed throughout most of the day and for most of the time, stayed up in a tree watching for something to eat.
I had the opportunity to see it taking off from the tree as it went after some prey. It happened quickly and I wasn’t able to get the photo focused quickly enough, but thought I would put it on here anyway.
Barred owls eat the following small animals: mice, voles, reptiles, squirrels, chipmunks, and small birds. They sit on a high perch and watch and listen for prey. They will even drop down to water and drop down to catch fish. I’ve never seen it do this.
This one seemed to think that if it sat right inside our bird feeder, it would have a good chance of getting a squirrel or a bird. It was a surprise to see it sitting inside the feeder.
And this next picture looks like it is having a nap but is probably hearing everything pretty good. Usually barred owls do their hunting at night, and resting through the day. If they are hungry they do more hunting during the day.
