A pair of Barred Owls roost in the woods behind the homes of Add Drive. Recently, at dusk, we heard the call of a male Barred Owl shortly before he flew from his roost site in a ivy-covered hardwood near the edge of the woods. The male Barred Owl call is quite distinctive. It is a muffled deep song that sounds like: "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all."
Here is the male Barred Owl I photographed while he was calling to his companion.
He waited a while, calling now and then, and looking around.
The Barred Owl is a large stocky owl (17 to 19 inches long) with no ear tufts, and large dark eyes. When it flies it is silent and can be completely unnoticed. It feeds on small mammal and crayfish in swampy forests with hardwood trees. They don't migrate and live within a 6 mile area from where they are born.
After perching on a high and slender branch of a Tulip Poplar, the Barred Owl saw us before flying off to his companion, a female who was making the female call that sounds like a deep, muffled: "hoo-awww!"
We were treated to the "Donald Duck" like calls as the pair caterwauled to each other as they were in close proximity to each other. So, at dusk if you hear the call "Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all," look for the beautiful male Barred Owl, one of Raymondale's raptors.
(all photographs taken in Raymondale)
Why a Raymondale bird blog? Dan and Beth Fedorko have been inventorying birds for Cornell University's Backyard Bird Count (www.feederwatch.org)
which runs November through April each year. This inventory keeps track
of migratory patterns, possible diseases, and decline and increase in
bird populations. In response to the Raymondale Environmental
Stewardship Task Force, we
have started this blog which is separate from the general Raymondale
news blog and more personal, to share our finds and photographs. If you
see any birds in the neighborhood and surrounding parkland, please send
us a photo! We'll help you identify it and might even post it on the
blog!
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