I’ve always enjoyed being out after sunset, especially on clear, moonlit winter nights. In the coming weeks, I’ll have an even greater incentive to venture out: I will be a volunteer in Maine’s first statewide owl survey, a cooperative effort between Maine Audubon and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Three owls will be the main focus of the survey: The northern saw-whet owl, the barred owl, and the great horned owl. Volunteers may also search for rare owls such as the long-eared owl, the short-eared owl, and the barn, boreal and eastern screech owls.

I’ve been lucky enough to actually see two of the above owls – the barred and the saw-whet. In addition to the barred owl revealed to me at my Blue Hill residence by the mobbing calls of chickadees, I’d been privileged to see one along the Green Point Road in Brewer more recently.

It was a beautiful early winter evening, the setting sun creating gold, pink and purple hues in the sky. I always make it a practice to scan the skies and treetops for possible birds, and that night I saw the characteristic silhouette of an owl at the top of a bare maple. We immediately turned the car around and parked a short distance from the tree, where we had excellent views of the owl as it scanned the area for prey.

After a few minutes passed, the owl began to walk up the limb it had been sitting on. Upon reaching the top, it spread its wings and flew into a more heavily wooded area.

This owl may have been a young male forced out of its home territory by local food shortages. Usually, old- or mature-growth forests – in large, unbroken tracts – are their preferred habitat. Otherwise, they are generally not migratory and maintain the same territory of approximately one square mile throughout the year.

Mated pairs are thought to be monogamous and will remain faithful to their territory for many years. Both the male and female will defend it from other barred owls with physical confrontation if necessary, but more often by way of vocal announcement. This includes their signature two-phrase hoot, consisting of four or five syllables each. It is represented phonetically as “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you aww-allll.”

In the Northeast, the barred owl may lay its first clutch of eggs anywhere between the middle of March to the middle of May. Ideal nest sites are tree cavities, followed by nest boxes. If these are unavailable, they will use old hawk, crow, or squirrel nests. However, researchers have determined this lessens the chances of the brood’s survival.

Barred owls are more active during the day than are other owls, and will also hoot more during daylight hours. However, late night is the ideal time to hear any owl, especially now, at the start of their breeding season. State biologists hope the survey will reveal their abundance and distribution, for at this time not much is known about their populations in Maine.

Next week: a profile of the great horned owl.

Chris Corio’s column on birds is published each Saturday. Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com