I would gladly trade the noisy howling and yipping of the pack of coyotes that lives somewhere in the woods behind my house for the hoot of an owl :-) I'm not sure what's up wth the coyotes but this week they have been particularly noisy, waking me up at night and driving the dog nuts!! I don't usually hear them all that often.

Waxing moon to full tonight. I don't know why coyotes are so into the moon but there you are. We have a pack as well. I sort of enjoy them, dogs yapping on the other hand... I have had owls in the past. I haven't routinely heard owls for a while. We used to see a Barred owl sitting in an Alder at the end of the drive in the middle of the day. they are not so nocturnal.

We had coyotes,not too long ago. Condo association posted warning about small pets. Occasionally we have a**** mountain lion that passes thru, again, with warnings for small pets.

****Correction big cats passing thru.

We have a Barred Owl (i think) that frequents our area. I find its hoot hooting comical simply because it sounds so much like a stereotypical cartoon owl

Owl did not stay long. Enjoyed the moments:o)

I would imagine that the coyote are feeling spring fever as are most of the critters this time of year. Love is in the air!

Love hearing the hoot of an owl. That sound is a rare and special treat.

This is the time that pups are first starting to come out of dens and being taught to hunt.

We have several different types of owls in this neighborhood as there is a large wooded area across the street. However several years ago before the tree was lost in a storm a Great Horned Owl nested in the front yard of a neighbor. Since she was the head of the parks department at that time she had them identified. I would swear that the few that I had seen in displays years ago were much taller than the ones I see flying around in the area.

Owls are one of my favorites. But haven't heard one in quite a while. Today we passed a fake owl made out of concrete in a yard and my dog triple checked it. He wanted to get closer but I convinced him to leave it. He did and got a couple extra pieces of treat for it when we got home.

We have great horned owls outside our back door...every day at this new place we moved to. Luckily not pooping and regurgitating on our deck like they were before we moved in. :0) What a mess they are! :0)

When we lived in Minnesota our neighbor's cat was almost carried off by a large owl. It fought back and managed to get free before the owl got too high, and bolted to safety. It had some puncture injuries be seemed to be fine after they healed.

Also while there a brief news report mentioned that bird watchers were excited that an Arctic Gray Owl was in the area perhaps because it was much colder than usual in south central Canada were they are usually found. Later that same day I happened to actually see one. It was striking. And huge. Seemingly about twice the size of a Great Horned Owl, Furthermore it was easier to see because they are active during the day. In reading about them later I learned that they hunt by sound, and their hearing is so acute that they hear a mouse moving about under the snow, and swoop down and strike.

Glenda, we hear them a lot and it is cool to hear.

I used to hear the little screech owl outside my bedroom window at least twice a year for several days at a time. One time a large owl. But alas, I hear hooting less and less. I blame it light pollution - porch lights, yard lights, security lights, sometimes two security lights on one building, pathway lights. I understand the need for security to a point, but very high ones on poles, yeesh.

We've had a pair of owls someplace close that I hear from time to time but not recently. DH has seen one of them fly across the top of our driveway at dusk several times lately as he's locking things up for the night. The last time I saw one, it was sitting in the big cherry off the front yard. In the daytime. So pretty.

We just had one in the tree near our front door. It was hooting!

Glenda, you've reported bobcats in your area but never mountain lions! The latter would be an extraordinary occurrence and would mean an escape of some sort. We have bobcats here upon occasion, pretty awesome.

I love the hoot of owls and enjoyed many different species when I lived in S. Carolina. However, we had a Barred owl who used the high peak of our roof for a hooting platform one summer. It was breathtaking!

HERE'S A VIDEO of a barred owl.

Oh that was a great video. Thanks for sharing. I like the "Who cooks for you?" comparison. ha

schoolhouse....I know! That call is absolutely incredible.

Great video.

We had a spruce tree near our house and it was hit by lightening causing the removing the top 4 ft of the tree. The tree continued to live and began its top repair. At first, there were sort of a flat platform on the tree top and a pair of saw whet owls used it for nest site. They occupied that location for the next 2 years before moving on. By that time, one of the new top branches of the tree turned upward and became the new tree-top.

Once when I was a boy and asleep in our old farmhouse, about 3 AM, a screech owl landed on the chimney and let out a blood curdling screech. That awful, and very loud sound shot down the chimney flooding the house. I awoke instantly and feared that the owl was in the house! What a shocking way to be roused from a sound sleep. I still remember that sound. There's nothing like it.

jemdandy, what an experience for you. When I had dogs, they would bark and growl when they heard the little screech owls.

ETA: I went online to make sure I was identifying the owls correctly and I noticed the screech owls are mostly grey, whereas the ones I saw were more golden brown, perhaps more like the Tawny Owl. Calls are somewhat similar tho. I remember coming home late at night and see the owl sitting in the poplar tree off the back porch. In silhouette, I could see the little ears standing up. Another reason to think they may have been the Tawny. Or maybe there are both species in my area.

The hoot-hooting in our wooded lots is very, well, atmospheric, except at 3am. If I wake up, they can keep me awake for an hour.

Quail are hatching in the desert where we walk our dogs. This morn they were very active. Having to keep the dogs close by. Soon the quail will be able to fly.

Oh I love the whistles of the quail, too. Normally I hear them along the field edge but rarely get a glimpse. One time I was sitting in the courtyard when I heard a very loud whistle and what do I see but a quail come from around the house, then walk up the driveway and up to my garage door and then poke about the privet hedge -right near where I was sitting. Such a beautiful bird. I didn't dare move a muscle for fear of scaring it away. It eventually walked away as quickly as it appeared.

Today while on a hike through a nearby nature area with family who were visiting for Easter, I heard a the unmistakable hoot hoody hoooooo of a barred owl. It seemed odd that it was out hooting in the middle of the day but it was fun to hear it.

In summer when my mother and I went fishing in the local river, hoot owls (that was the term the locals used for barred owls) would begin stirring in late afternoon and make their familiar hooting call. That was a signal for us to go home to begin the evening chores. Their calls came within a few minutes of 4pm every day.

I love the hooting of the owls but hate them when they kill my beloved osprey babies.

Just yesterday in late afternoon we heard a great horned owl hooting in the distance.

I heard one as I was going to sleep around 1am this morning. I will have to search to see which kind it might have been -- the hoot reminded me of someone saying BOO-yah (HOO-hoo, the last a falling note). It must have been in my neighbor's tree.

There is nothing more startling then walking through the woods at night and having a Screech Owl call out from right above your head. I've had it happen a few times while going out to deer hunt. Almost had to go back and change my drawers!

I found this photo from a couple of years ago. There was a nesting pair and this one was snoozing in late afternoon.

It seems that my late night owl must have been a barred owl -- one of their less stereotypical calls.

Oh, Glenda (and everyone else hearing owls)! I am so jealous! One late mid-October night, several years ago, I heard that hoot-hooting in my back yard. It continued until some time in mid December, if I remember correctly. And it occurred every late fall for a number of years. Haven't heard it now for a few years, but I like to think the owls are still there, it's just because of my degenerating hearing that I no longer hear them. I can't hear the coyotes anymore either. And yes. I miss them, too.

Thank you, Rhizo, for posting that wonderful video.

Rusty

We had this one on the light pole in the corner of our yard last night. Big bird, Amazing sight!