Bird watching: barred owl, part 0

Self-tutoring about owls: the tutor mentions an encounter.

Barred owls didn’t live on Vancouver Island until, depending whom you ask, the 60s, 70s, or 80s. However, they may be the most common owl here now. I’ve had four encounters with barred owls – and no encounters with any other kind – on Vancouver Island.

My first encounter with a barred owl was during the day: I was exploring some swampy deciduous forest near Butchart Gardens, back in the 90s. (I believe the place I was exploring is developed since.) Out of nowhere I heard a short call, then a big, fluffy owl flew out of a tree, down by me, then up into another tree, well out of reach, about 75 feet away.

Source:

Bull, John and John Farrand, Jr. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds (Eastern Region). New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.

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