On Saturday night we were at a camp on Mactaquac Lake near Fredericton. At dusk we began to hear a Barred Owl hooting nearby. This was not unusual because my daughter had also heard it in the same area recently and it is the season for owls to be vocalizing to mark their territory and support their mates.
We stepped outside to listen and heard a Hermit Thrush singing its beautiful evening song just a few trees away from us. This is the first we have heard the Hermit Thrush this spring. I think this is the most beautiful bird song we have from our native birds. What a concert that was!
I made a hoot with my own voice and cupped hands and the next thing we knew an owl was looking at us from the large hemlock above. He looked down at us but mostly spent his time looking for who/what had made that funny noise. He appeared totally comfortable with us and even allowed us to fetch the camera. Getting a photo was a huge challenge because it was almost dark, way too dark for a decent exposure. I used everything I knew to increase the light into my Nikon P900 and got a few decent exposures out of the 30 or so that I took. No flash was used because that would perhaps injure the owl's eyes and would be unethical. We watched the owl for as long as we wanted and went inside the camp. The owl remaining on the same perch for some time afterwards.
Barred Owls seem to prefer different habitat from Great Horned Owls. In my years of birding we seem to find one or the other but not often both. An exception to that is experience gained from doing about 15 years of nocturnal owl surveys. Yes, we usually got one species or the other at a stop but sometimes we got both. If we did get both, the Barred Owls were usually in close and very vocal and the Great Horned Owls were usually far off and single. That probably reflected the different habitat and each species stayed more-or-less in their own habitat. Or, it may mean that the Barred Owls are more responsive to a call or to unusual goings on in their territory.
Whatever the reason for the responsiveness of the Barred Owl, we enjoyed watching this individual watch us as the Hermit Thrush finished his nightly song and with light from the full moon filtering through the hemlock to backlight the owl. Nature can provide wonderful experiences!
For more information on Barred Owls, search this blog for 'Barred Owl'.
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