Difficult to spot, barred owl hunts day and night

Seeing the great gray owl a few weeks ago has certainly been a highlight for me this winter. Because they breed far from Maine, and are only seen here when they irrupt from their normal ranges in response to prey availability, it’s possible that I may not see another one for years. Of course, this depends upon how far I’d want to travel to see one. Last year’s massive invasion of several species of northern owls into the Midwest brought in people from all over the country. In one day, people saw as many as 30 great gray owls, as well as rarities such as the boreal owl and northern hawk owl.

However, I won’t have to travel far at all to see at least one of Maine’s resident owls – the barred owl. As many as four barred owls were spotted by people on their way to see the great gray in Milford in the last few weeks. In fact, once “our” great gray owl had flown away, and the traveling group of comic gray jays had finished entertaining us, we headed back down the road and soon came upon a barred owl sunning itself atop the short stump of a birch tree.

The people in the vehicle ahead of us – one of which was an acquaintance from Maine Audubon, Bob Milardo – spotted the owl first. And what a good spot it was! That owl blended perfectly into the monochrome background of bare birch tree trunks. The person who spotted it must have done so before and developed a good search image, for you don’t often find something until you know exactly how “see” it.

We pulled over to observe the owl, which seemed to squint sleepily in the warm sunshine. It appeared completely unconcerned with our presence, but we did not push our luck. After a few minutes, we packed up our spotting scopes and prepared to head on our way.

“See you at the next owl,” Bob joked.

We didn’t see another owl that day. However, a week later, my friend Paul Markson and I went out to find the great gray, which had continued to be seen throughout the week. Paul had been out twice by himself and had no luck, so I was hoping we’d see it for his sake. Unfortunately that was not to be.

“Well, I’m beginning to recognize individual trees now,” Paul said.

However, two things saved the day from being a total disappointment. The first was a great view of a red-tailed hawk, as it soared above the general area in which the great gray owl had been spotted. The second was another closeup view of a barred owl, this one perched about midway up a spruce tree.

Barred owls are pretty common in Maine; their breeding range extends throughout all of the eastern United States and includes some parts of the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Canada. It is not unusual to see them during daylight hours, as they will hunt during the day as well as at night. They are opportunistic, preying on a wide variety of animals: small mammals, rabbits, and birds up to the size of grouse, as well as amphibians and reptiles.

In contrast, the great gray owl preys mostly on small rodents, such as voles, shrews, mice, and moles.

Both the great gray and the barred owls spotted in Milford were easily seen because of the location in which they chose to perch: in trees bordering a large weedy swath alongside the road. This would enable them to catch unsuspecting prey out in the open – and, apparently, to sun themselves, as had seemed to be the case with the barred owl.

NEWS bird columnist Chris Corio can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net