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Do you know this owl?

15 years ago

He/she has been hanging around our place for the last few days. Do you know what kind of owl it is? I have been keeping the cat indoors. Would it go after him (our cat)? Thanks.

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Comments (10)

birding_nut
15 years ago
It is a Barred Owl. Large owls do sometimes take cats, so keep your cat inside to be safe.

Barred Owls are cool birds and you got a great picture!

BN
cookie8
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, I also have little kids and I think this owl is trying to nest in our yard. Should we play outside a lot to discourage it? My main concern is if it's a female and has babies in the the spring and gets protective of its nest if it will get aggressive towards us. There are woods and lots of it behind us so I think nesting should come easy enough.
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connie_in_western_nc
15 years ago
We have screech owls who nest in the woods beside the house in our nesting box or in a tree and we treat them like "they aren't there"... LOL as if we didn't spend LOTS of time watching them, esp when the babes fledge. But for the most part, I find whether it's owls, wrens, or something in between, just go about your normal routines and they will adapt accordingly (moving further away from the yard if that's their choice). I'd keep the cat inside "just in case" but don't think the kids will have any problems.

Nice pic and aren't you lucky. We feel blessed when the larger owls come into the yard.
Elly_NJ
15 years ago
What a great picture! Great owls, some populations threatened in the central NE (NY, NJ) because of habitat destruction.

Barred owls are mouse eaters - as opposed to children eaters : ) - and they are not nesting now. They are reclusive, so when they do nest, you probably won't know it, except for the calls at night.

A man followed a pair of Barred owls for a few years on a fabulous web site I've attached.

http://www.owlcam.com/owls98/nest98.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Barreds
bandjzmom
15 years ago
What a gorgeous pciture of a stunningly beautiful creature! Oh, I would so adore being able to see one. You are very lucky indeed.
cookie8
Original Author
15 years ago
They are definitely into bigger things than mice. Zoom in on this picture and I think he got a rabbit. I told my son, "I think he is going to sleep in the leaves over there" so he went out took a picture and we thought "ah, sweet". My husband zooms into a couple of pics and sees eyes and feet. This is the feet picture. Not so sweet, except for the owl, of course. So I really question how safe our cat would be.

Here is a link that might be useful:
paulsiu
15 years ago
Beautiful!

I am rather doubtful that the owl will be a danger to a full size cat. How much do you think the owl weights, a few pounds at most. Compare to a cat, that's light. Cats have teeth and claws, which makes them dangerous prey.

Also the typical prey for owls are fairly common and is far less dangerous for the owl. They would have to be pretty desperate to try attacking a cat.

Paul
deanie1
15 years ago
Wow -- beautiful pic!
gymell
15 years ago
A large female barred owl weighs 2 pounds at most. Unless your cat weighs less than one pound (a raptor can only carry about 1/2 its body weight), then your cat is fine. You should be more worried about what damage your outdoor cat is doing to the local songbird population. To that end, I'd say keep it inside.
paulsiu
15 years ago
Yes, cats are dangerous even to hawks. I have heard of cats killing a hawk when they are distracted by their prey. Cats are often pretty fearless, they go after large snapping turtles too (with fatal results).

Paul

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