[birding] Great-horned Owl

[Joel Geier]

Hi Trent & All,

I haven't been hearing begging calls but have been hearing regular
adult-type calls from Great Horned Owls (GHOW), since the onset of
cooler weather. I also heard a BARN OWL screeching a couple of nights
ago, for the first time in months.

Quite a few years back, I heard GHOW begging calls in late fall, and
asked other birders about it. Larry McQueen informed me that adult GHOWs
will sometimes make these begging calls as part of the pair-bonding
process that precedes the nesting season. Perhaps we're getting into
that season now.

On the other hand, I did see a juvenile that was still bumming off
his/her parents at E.E. Wilson, about a month ago. Maybe just like many
young adult humans nowadays, some of these young owls are slow to get
out into the big world on their own. You know, due to the economy and
all that ;)

Happy owling,
Joel

On Sun, 2009-08-23 at 22:01 -0700, Trent Seager wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I was hearing a GHOW calling with a begging screech (the ascending "eeeant")
> down by the Willamette River at Crystal Lakes Sports field last Thursday
> during the evening.
> 
> Does anyone suspect like me that this is from the young dispersing from the
> adults?  With fledging usually happening in April and May, this seems really
> late to hear young.
> 
> thanks,
> 
> Trent
> 
> Trent Seager
> Corvallis & Newport
> 
> 
> 
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