Last Friday, I heard some hooting. It sounded like there was an owl up a hill. This particular owl could not have belonged to the nest that I had been watching. I decided to head out early this morning to see if I could find any owl activity in that area.
I started looking for owls around 5:30 AM. Before I reached the spot that I was targeting, something knocked my hat off of my head. I didn't see anything. I grabbed my hat off of the ground and put it back on my head.
When I looked up, I saw an owl on a branch hanging over the trail. The owl was just staring at me. It was dark, so it was difficult to make out details. One thing that I noticed was the lack of ear tufts. This was not a Great Horned Owl. More than likely, I was in a stare-down with a Barred Owl.
Before long, the owl took off and started flying directly at me. While I hadn't been using a flashlight, I still had one in my hand from when I was trying to make myself more visible to traffic. I turned on the flashlight and aimed it at the owl. the owl veered off course. Apparently, a bright light is like bear spray to owls. I only had a split second of an illuminated owl, so I couldn't examine the owl too much. It was definitely lighter than a Great Horned Owl, which would be consistent with my suspected Barred Owl identification.
I lost sight of the owl. I heard periodic single hoots in the area, but I could not find the source. I also didn't want to stick around all day waiting for light in hopes that I could find where the owl went. I ended this early walk so that I could get started on my more typical walk.
I guess the moral of this story is to prepare yourself if you are in Barred Owl territory. Make sure you wear a hat. You also want to have a flashlight ready to protect you.
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