The Barred Owls I have observed spend a lot of time watching before they strike their prey.
When the time is right, the dive is very precise, and fast.
And sometimes after all that the prize is pond detritus. I didn’t see if he dropped this clump of leaves in flight or after he landed, but pretty soon he tried again.
It would be easy to walk right underneath this Barred Owl Owlet without even knowing he was there. I probably have more than a few times!
The adult that was with him for his Eating Lesson had flown off to sit over the pond, leaving the little fellow on his own.
He was somewhat covered by the pine boughs and his coloration seen from a predator above would blend in with his surroundings. When I was leaving I saw the other parent a few trees away keeping his eye on the area.
It turns out that the Barred Owls I’ve been watching have a chick. The first time I spotted him he was getting a feeding lesson from one of his parents. The adult demonstrated then passed the item, which I could not identify, to the owlet.
They were very high off the ground and many branches prevented a good view. These owls are very accustomed to people passing by. With hundreds of acres available to nest they chose a spot near a popular walking path through Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
The tree canopy is pretty dense in the area where the Barred Owls I’ve been watching hang out. There are a few perching spots that are nicely lit in the late afternoon.
This Owl chose such a branch, showing off his powerful feet.
He didn’t move much between my taking this image and the one in my April 6th Barred Owl post, with just his facial disc angled slightly more. They were both so nice I developed a B&W version of this one.
He waited, I waited.
A Barred Owl passed over me and I just saw his wing. A few moments later another one zipped through the tree canopy. After walking along slowly and listening as the two owls “talked” to each other and several Crows made a ruckus overhead I spotted one high in a tree.
He then flew towards a pond where I have seen an Owl before. I slowly walked in that direction, standing and waiting and I finally spotted him. This tree stands in the middle of that small pond. He was a little closer to the ground, maybe twenty feet (six meters) up.
I inched around the side of the pond and got a side view.
And a few more feet along and more waiting, the sun popped out for a minute.
These were taken with my Sony Alpha 6500 with Sony 55-210 MM lens, which I rarely use for wildlife. However, my Canon is off having the media slot fixed and I was pleased how these came out.
I heard two Barred Owls talking to each other with that low cooing sound they use when they are on the hunt. After perching in a few spots in the tree canopy one of them settled for a bit above a small pond.
I check this spot regularly, knowing that at least a pair of Barred Owls hunt here. Looking through past posts, June of 2018 was the last time my passing here was rewarded.
Sony Alpha 6500, Sony 55-210 mm
A pair of Barred Owls frequents the pond near this stand of bamboo looking for food. This owl had just had an unsuccessful attempt to catch a noisy bullfrog.
The bullfrog stopped his song but the owl flew away with nothing in his talons. The owl chose a spot with a good view of the pond to watch and listen for his next opportunity.
Native bamboo was grown on the plantations in South Carolina to create natural barriers to help keep livestock in and keep predators out. Today it makes a beautiful addition to some of the area gardens and museum properties.
We visited Beidler Forest last week with out of town guests. We were all delighted to see a Barred Owl shortly after leaving the visitor center and quite close to the board walk. The owl impressed the guests with a head swiveling demo but opted not to go fishing while we were watching.
A Barred Owl pair with two fledged owlets has been seen regularly from the boardwalk at Beidler Forest. We spotted just this one youngster taking short flights in the limbs above us.
The owlet was curious about the humans passing on the boardwalk below him, not bothered by our presence. A school group of about twenty-five kids and chaperones had just passed and a few of their stragglers stopped with us to watch the chick.
