Friends of Monica and I showed us a picture last week that is inserted in this article (thank you Dan & Stacy) of this owl and I’m here to tell you, it blended into its surrounding so well I had to look twice before I noticed it. I also believe most of us wouldn’t have seen that owl if it did not move. Because of this photo and not really knowing much about this species of bird, I researched owls of Wisconsin, and this is what I found.

Wisconsin is home to 11 species of owls, but only four call the badger state home year-round. Those being the GREAT HORNED, BARRED, EASTERN SCREECH and the NORTHERN SAW-WHET. Of those four, the one shown (inserted) in the article we believe is a barred owl. But if you look at the opening picture, that is a BARRED OWL also and has brown plumage with a white stripped chest and a yellow beak. When comparing the two, the owl inserted is gray with a black beak. Confused? I was.

At this point, I thought it may be possible that barred owls could have seasonal plumage, but found, their feathers do not change during different seasons. Barred owls have almost black eyes and most owls don’t, (compare the two) then they have brown vertical bars over white plumage, and their upper breast has horizonal bars. Both have the same markings. Then I looked at hundreds of pictures and found that there are gray and white striped barred owls also. So, IS IT A BARRED OWL.

Here are a few facts on the barred owl. The majority of birds of prey eyes are located on the sides of their head, but ALL owl’s eyes are not only located on the front of their faces, but they are also fixed (anatomical structure) to their eye socket and cannot be moved. This is why owls turn their head (270 degrees) to view their surroundings.

The barred owls are great hunters at night for a few reasons. 1) They have incredible vision in low light conditions. 2) Their almost stealth in flight because of the structure of their feathers. They mostly rely on smaller mammals for meals like mice, voles, squirrel’s and rabbits. Barred owls are very territorial and can be aggressive toward humans, especially when defending nesting young.

So, can the barred owl become prey? Yep, the primary enemy of barred owls is the great horned owl. If their territories overlap, the great horned owl can/will displace or even kill a barred owl. Barred owls stay close to the same location year-round, can reach 25 inches tall with a wingspan close to 50 inches. They can live 10 to 15 years, but some have been known to reach over 20 years old. This owl is highly vocal with a well-known what sound like (WHO COOKS FOR YOU, WHO COOKS FOR YOU ALL).

I want to thank Dan and Stacy for giving me the idea for this week’s article and now I know much more about owls.