His visit also prompted me to share some fascinating facts about this beautiful and wise-looking bird.
The Barred Owl is native to North America, and is best known as the Hoot Owl for its distinctive call. They are sometimes confused with their equally large cousins the Great Horned Own, but are dramatically different in shape, eye colour and markings. The Barred Owl has a pale face with dark rings around the eyes, a yellow beak and unique brown eyes. The upper parts are mottled gray-brown. The underparts are light with markings; the chest is barred horizontally while the belly is streaked vertically. The legs and feet are covered in feathers up to the talons.
Breeding habitats are dense woods across Canada, the eastern United States, and south to Mexico. Recent studies show suburban neighbourhoods can be ideal habitat for barred owls. Using transmitters, scientists found that populations increased faster in the suburban settings than in old growth forest. A factor of this suburban success may be easily accessible rodent prey in such settings. However, for breeding and roosting needs, this species needs at least some large trees and can be locally absent in some urban areas for this reason. The main danger to owls in suburban settings is from cars. Please drive carefully to the cache site.
The Barred Owl's nest is often in a tree cavity, often ones created by piliated woodpeckers; it may also take over an old nesting site made previously by a red-shouldered hawk, cooper’s hawk, crow or squirrel. The Barred Owl has been known to live up to 10 years in the wild and 23 years in captivity.
The Barred Owl is a very opportunistic predator. The principal prey of this owl are meadow voles, followed by mice and shrews. Other mammals preyed upon include rats, squirrels, rabbits, bats, moles, opossums, mink and weasels. A Barred Owl was recently photographed predaceously grabbing and flying with a full-grown domestic cat, a semi-regular prey item for the Great Horned Owl but previously unknown to be taken by this species. Birds are taken occasionally, and even domestic ducks and chickens, where they will even swoop through small openings in enclosed and covered runs. It occasionally wades into water to capture fish, turtles, frogs and crayfish. The Barred Owl hunts by waiting on a high perch at night, or flying through the woods and swooping down on prey.
The usual call is a series of eight accented hoots ending in oo-aw, with a downward pitch at the end. The most common mnemonic device for remembering the call is "Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all." It is noisy in most seasons. When agitated, this species will make a buzzy, rasping hiss and click its beak together forcefully.
You can check your location of the owl's nest at GeoChecker.com.