Coming across a barred owl in October and then again mid November, 2024 had me thinking of the owls I have seen in the wild over the years. I am not sure what the attraction is with the owls, but they almost take on mystical allure about them. There are many owls around, they just are not seen that often. Being the size many are, people are fascinated by them. Owls don't flush easily when people are around which let's people get a good look at them (although it also allows people to get too close to them).
For the past few years locations of active owls are not shared publicly as too many people, especially photographers, flock to see the owls.
We came across the barred owl (immediately below) in late October, then found it again in mid-November. (Group of photos below)
The first time I remember seeing an owl was in 1981, in the foothills of Alberta. Fortunately I had a camera with me, but unfortunately didn't have the lenses, nor the experience, I have now. I believe it was a great grey owl sitting on the highway sign.
Mud Lake has been a great place to see owls. Great horned owls were present off and on until 2013, some of these photos go back to 2003
Screech owls, which blend in so well with the trees, are also present at Mud Lake, these photos cover 2013 to 2023
In 2020 a nest of screech owls fledged. The word got out immediately and the place was mobbed. The NCC had to put up barricades to keep people at a distance from the young owls
Petrie island has had owls at times. In 2005 there were two great grey owls (one was blind in one eye), in 2009 a great horned owl was there and in 2020 and 2021 a barred owl spent most of the winter there
In 2005 we found great grey owls in Dunrobin
While the winter of 2023-2024 was an off year for them, snowy owls are usually in the Fallowfield area, south of Kanata during winter.
In the fall of 2023 Fletcher Wildlife Garden hosted a pair of barred owls. The female, on the left, is larger than the male
Hilda Road, in the west end had a screech owl living there in 2021. It was very hard to spot as its camouflage was so good
Andy Haydon Park had a pair of screech owls in the fall of 2023. One was a grey morph and the other was a red morph. While I wanted a photo of them both together, I gladly settled for the red morph as I had not seen one before
In 2021, by the Ottawa River in Orleans, a hawk owl hung out for a while.
Viewmount Drive in March of 2023 was an owl hotspot. A great horned, a great grey and a tiny saw-whet owl were in nearby woods.
Going slightly further afield. A short-eared owl in fields near Brekonridge, Quebec 2018
And in 2021 a screech owl had found a hollow tree on Belle Island near Kingston. It's hard not to be spotted with those big eyes looking out
A long-eared owl on her nest in a Lanark County sugar bush in 2000
We have been fortunate to find owls while visiting the US...
2006 - a great horned owl in Loxahatchee, Florida
2015 - a burrowing owl in Phoenix
2020 - a pair of barred owls at Florida's Circle B Bar Nature Reserve
Going much farther afield...
2007 - Crested owls in Costa Rica
Summer of 2007 - a pearl spotted owl, a scops owl (very much like our screech owl) and a giant eagle owl, all in South Africa
And last, but not least, a short-eared owl in the distance while visiting the Galapagos in 2013
