© Bill Weaver
Some owls, like Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls, live in the city. As hunters, they find a lot to eat in the city — like rats or squirrels! Both favor urban parks, cemeteries, and botanical gardens — places with big trees — and both roost during the day. The Great Horned Owl, like this one, might appear like an enormous housecat sitting upright. The Barred Owl often perches down low, where it’s easy to spot.
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BirdNote®
City Owls
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
[Barred Owl duet, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/175898, 0.36-.41]
You don't need to travel to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – or even to a remote forest – to see owls. Some owls – including big birds like Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls – live in the city. Owls are hunters, and there’s a lot to eat in the city — like rats or even squirrels!
Great Horned Owls favor urban parks, cemeteries, and botanical gardens, places with big trees. They are huge owls with pointy ear-like tufts, and they roost during the day in trees and hunt at night over open areas nearby. Look for something shaped like an enormous house cat sitting upright on a branch. At night, listen for these mellow hoots:
[Great Horned Owl pair, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/50548, 0.16-.21]
Barred Owls sound rowdy by comparison.
[Barred Owl duet, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/175898, 0.36-.41]
The Barred Owl also likes parks, especially with open spaces below the trees, because it hunts mostly inside the woods. It’s big, too, with a smoothly rounded head, and it sometimes perches down low where it’s easy to spot.
We hope you can find owls near where you live. Take a pair of binoculars, so you can watch them at a distance that’s comfortable for you – and for the owl.
[Barred Owl duet, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/175898, 0.36-.41]
If you ever miss a BirdNote, you can always get the latest episode. Just tell your smart speaker: Play the podcast BirdNote. Learn more on our website, BirdNote.org.
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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by Gregory F Budney and David S Herr.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Managing Producer: Jason Saul
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Assistant Producer: Mark Bramhill
© 2017 Tune In to Nature.org November 2017/2019 Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# owl-09 -2017-11-13 owl-09
Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Michael Stein
NarratorSights & Sounds
