Owls Everywhere

by Matt, Sandra, Brennan, Grant, Theresa, Denis
(St. Catharines, Dundas, Utopia, London, Windsor)

Matt wrote to report ... it was a lovely day in a St. Catharine's park, whilst out walking my 3 dogs, I came upon a crow cawing loudly up a tree. As we walked beneath said tree I said to the crow "go be noisy somewhere else" to which it immediately complied and flew away. It was then I noticed that crow was yelling at a Great Horned Owl. Conditions being favourable in nesting as both Cooper's and Red Tailed Hawks leave nests for them. I certainly hope to see more of it.

Sandra from Dundas said ... last night after dark (it was about -8 C) my husband and I were hiking the Bruce Trail in Dundas. We heard a “hooting” call that was essentially a rapid succession of identical “hoots”. At first we thought it was a woodpecker but it was quite dark out. I have heard many great horned owls and it was similar however each “hoot” was identical (hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo). We heard it about 3 or 4 times. Any idea what this could have been?

Brennan from Utopia wrote ... this morning I walked to the end of the driveway, and saw the remnants of a squirrel, or rabbit in the fresh snow. There were only tracks from the small animal, and obvious signs of a struggle, only two small pieces of fur and a blood patch where it was eaten remain of the critter. There were also signs in the snow of feathers. I assumed an owl because it happened at night. Just now 8:00 I was outside, and heard the: who, who, whooo, whooo. I couldn't see it, but the owl sounded like it was beside me.

Grant from London said ... it was Monday January 8 2018. I'd just moved to London from having lived in Kitchener Waterloo for the past 35 years. I've moved to Thompson Road close to Adelaide Street in London, Ontario. It was 11:00 pm at night and was just looking out my window when I notice a large bird flying outside the window. I thought it was odd as I don't see birds to often at night, as it got closer I could see the flat profile of its face. I got a great look at it as it was my first encounter with an owl in the wild. I've only seen them in captivity. I got excited and doing some google searches it looked to me to be a Great Horned Owl. I'm not an avid nature guy but am intrigued and will be looking for that owl every time I look out my window.

Theresa from London wrote ... the Barred Owl landed on our deck rail this morning around 9:30am. We have a large bird feeder with four types of feed including peanuts and a suet cage a few feet from there. We attract a variety of birds and small creatures such as squirrels and chipmunks, so that might be what brought it out. It’s been snowing a lot recently, so we have a big crowd near the feeders. The owl sat and stared at us through the large windows facing the deck for about 10 minutes before one of the dogs noticed it and began barking, sending it on its way. We live about a block from the Thames River in south London, and our back yard is on a ravine of Carolinian forest. (Shelborne Place if you want to google it). It was a beautiful, large bird and I’m so glad to have seen it! The camera was right there, but I was too slow to get a shot this time.

One of our readers asked ... we have been researching the sound of an animal we have started to hear in our neighbourhood. When we researched various owl calls, it sounds identical to a Little Owl. However, when we researched further it looks as though they do not live in North America, let alone Ontario? Are there other species that sound similar, that live in Ontario?

One of our readers asks ... while riding my bike between two marshes on the Lakefield Trail, a medium-sized, reddish brown owl flew right in front of me. Is there anyone who might know what kind of owl it might have been?

Denis from Windsor wrote ... on December 1st, I saw a large owl perched on the backyard fence for a few minutes. I don't know what variety it was. It's chest looked spotted. The news has reported many snowy owl sightings, but this one wasn't white like the ones I've seen in the photos. It was more beigey brown and blended well with the trees trunks and branches. This was in the area of Elsmere and Tecumseh Rd.

Thank you for sending us information about your Owl sightings, and if any of our readers can help identify these mystery Owls, please leave a comment below.