Hard for me to see, but they sure look like Great Horned to me? They look pretty big.

nfmgirl

It IS a bit hard to tell since I can't see their heads or breasts clearly, but we only have 2 large brown owls in Florida: the great-horned owl and the barred owl. Barred owls do not have the "ear" tufts, so their head is round. Great horned owls, do, so they look like the "typical" picture of an owl, with two "ears" sticking up. Both owls are quite large, and barred owls are often seen during the day, where great-horned owls are mostly seen at dusk or at night.

I have a feeling these are more likely barred owls, but again, it is hard to tell. Keep an eye out for them in the next few days. If you have barred owls on your property, especially during mating season, you will hear them calling, day or night. They sound like they are saying "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for YOU-aaall?" Here are some pics for you.

Barred Owl:

Great Horned Owl:

Hope this helps!

Marcia

Lucky You!

It's not that common to spot owls. Of course hawks are pretty common during the day, but owls are more reclusive.

I read that a pair of owls can eat over 100 mice per day !
Lucky , lucky you .

The picture of the barred owl looks like an old girl friend,Vivian. I still have a picture of her,almost 40 years ago,wow that long ago. I love owls and like going on trails at dusk, in well established old forest.
Felix

Did Vivian go around asking, "Who cooks for you?" Felix? Hehehe! After looking more closely at the wing markings in your photo, Christine, I really do think these are probably barred owls. That, and the fact that they were so noisy and visible during daylight hours.

Whichever, though, they are a great thing to have in your yard. I so enjoy listening to them at night. Barred owls have lots of really strange noises they make in addition to their normal call. They sound like jungle birds, cackling and laughing like crazy.

Enjoy them!

Marcia

Christine
There is an owl living on the Orange trail by my house. I don't know what kind it is.

Felix
That wasn't nice, Vivian is not going to like it!

Marcia
I will try to take a picture of the owl, to identify which one it is.

We have barred owls all around here. My older daughter (16) says that there is one she named Bartholomew who must have a crush on her because she hears him outside her window all the time. So at least one of our owls has a name and is probably a teenager. I have been seeing quite a bit of them in the morning and at dusk, more than I ever have before. They even have let me walk up pretty close before I realized they were there so maybe Bart does have a thing for my girl. :)

Melissa

We have Great Horned owls living close to us and can often hear them in the evening. Right at dusk we'll see them swooping low over the golf course, picking up their appetizers for the evening rodent feast, I'm sure!

Kate

Marcia, Thanks for the helpful photos and information. Those birds are without a doubt barred owls. What beautiful birds! Yesterday afternoon I heard them on and off all afternoon. Today they weren't around but I heard occasional hawk sounds. Interesting sounds to listen to while working out in the yard.

Christine