Owl

[rup]

I have an owl that has taken up residence by the bedroom window. Hoots pm and am, and in between. Anyone know of a hooting website that I might i/d the rascal??

It goes: whoo-who-who-whoo whoo whoo, more or less regularly.

There was a story in local newspaper last month about a screech owl in town.

 

[vegematic]

It isn't owl-specific, but I often go to Cornell's AllaboutBirds website for id's. You can search for individual owls and listen to their vocalizations by clicking on "sound". the link I've given you is for the Barred Owl, which is the one I hear most often.

 

[Snowflea]

Does it sound like it's saying "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you...aaaaallllll?" That's a barred owl. I've seen four of them in the forests of northern Vermont over the past month. Wondering if increased sightings are possibly due to healthy rodent populations this year?

Always a thrill to encounter owls.

 

[rup]

The sounds are all 'whoo' s, not any other vocalization like a 'screech'. I tried to capture its cadence by using the who and whoo to denote the length of the 'who'. Another try with the whos:

long short short long, pause long pause long.

The difference between the long and short is more like a half or quarter note in music. The pause like a quarter note rest in music.

The 'who cooks for you' sounds like similar cadence to that I'm trying to describe.

 

[LarryD]

Have you seen the bird, or only heard it? A mourning dove can sound owl-like. If it is vocalizing day and night this is a possibility.

Former Boston Globe photographer has a great web site: www.eyesonowls.com. I have seen his presentation and the first sound he played was of a mourning dove, because so many people mistake the sound for that of an owl.

 

[expat]

Great Horned Owl seems likely.

What you described in your first post sounds most like a Great Horned owl to me. Check some of the sources quoted for owl sounds from others and see if that's the one.

Here's a link to a great horned owl recording that sounds like most that I have heard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsTKkLxtGx4

Here's another quote I found regarding the Great Horned Owl: "Who died today? Who? Who?" Great horned owls escort the dead away, according to the First Nations. Hence their eternal question, I guess.

 

[rup]

Not clear enuff on time-of-day. Have heard it at 6-9pm, 11pm-2am, and 4-5am. Maybe other times, but either not listening or asleep.

The url for the great horned owl above sounds spot on.