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Owls

Short-eared Owl - 72nd St Grounding Station, BC Short-eared owls are one of our active day time owls in the winter time here in the greater Vancouver area. There is a special spot along the shoreline of Boundary Bay. This is the grounding station at 72nd street where I found my first Short-eared owl. To tell the difference between Norther Harriers, which look very similar, the owls are very flappy where as the harriers soar quite a bit. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com 2023
Short-eared Owl - 72nd St Grounding Station, BC
Western Screech Owl - Cowichan Valley, BC On a pilgrimage to Vancouver Island we were lucky enough to see one of our rare owls of British Columbia. Western Screech Owls are few and far between now and to catch a brief look is a treat. Western Screech's have a rapid fire repetitive hoot and may not even sound like an owl. They are very fond of holes in trees and here in a nest box. The birds found in the desert areas are more gray than our rufous morphs. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com 2023
Western Screech Owl - Cowichan Valley, BC
Collared Scops Owl - Baan Maka Nature Lodge, TH On our arrival at Baan Maka Nature Lodge Cantina for the evening, we caught the sound of an owl just off the dining room. The host changed the lighting so we could see our dinner guest. As it turns out, he had a dinner guest of his own. This Collared Scops Owl was great treat to start our stay off with one of the best birding resorts we stayed at during our Thailand trip. The little owl can be found all over Thailand but is usually heard first. Michael W Klotz 2023 www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Collared Scops Owl - Baan Maka Nature Lodge, TH
Spotted Owlet - Wat Mahathat, TH A noisy outburst of a group of Great Mynas had us looking in the direction of a tree trunk. The Mynas were loud and intent on a hole in the side of the tree. Very shortly after an owl shot from the hole landing several trees over and perched in the upper branches of a large tree in the gardens of Wat Mahathat. The small owlet intently watched us until we moved on. These little birds eat mostly insects and will plant themselves under a street light to take advantage of the insects that collect there at night. Michael W Klotz 2023 www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Spotted Owlet - Wat Mahathat, TH
Great-horned Owl - Deltaport, BC One of the most notorious night time hunters is being very paternal watching over his mate in the nest across the way. This bird is sometimes called the
Great-horned Owl - Deltaport, BC
Short-eared Owl - King's Links, BC Every winter along Boundary Bay the short-eared owls hunt along the grass on the foreshore. Sometimes they hunt along the King's Links golf course checking the rough for more than golf balls. These owls are called diurnal as they will hunt in the day. They will typically come out when there is a bit of cloud cover, Sometimes there are aerobatics when two owls or an owl and and a Northern Harrier get too close and one feel the other is poaching. I have never seen it end in a flurry of floating feathers, but it is still impressive none the less. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com 2022
Short-eared Owl - King's Links, BC
Burrowing Owl - East Blythe, CA It is always a good trip when a Burrowing Owl is one of the birds we run into. This trip was actually to Tucson, but flying into LAX and driving so we could see some different birds along the way had us stop in Blythe on the border of California and Arizona. There were at least 12 of the little day loving owls on the dykes that hold in the irrigation canals together. The birds would be roosting along the field edge of the road keeping an eye on what we were doing. Burrowing Owls from our end of the world will winter in California but some of these birds will head into Central and South America for the winter. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com 2022
Burrowing Owl - East Blythe, CA
Barred Owl - Cypress Lookout, BC The snow has finally come to the Vancouver area covering the mountains with blanket of white. During a trip up to Cypress Mountain, we stopped at the lookout where the snow hadn't quite covered everything, including the grassy slope where a Barred Owl was intently listening for prey. Our subject is one of the more common owls in our area but always a pleasure to see. These owls are not native to this area but the eastern part of the continent but have made their way here over the grasslands through homestead groves. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com 2022
Barred Owl - Cypress Lookout, BC
Barred Owl - Dogwood Park, BC We saw the posting on eBird and headed that way, When we went for a walk in the off leash area of the very well named, Dogwood Park. We asked a couple owners if they had seen a barred owl and apparently there was one moving around in the cedar forest down the path. We hear a screeching down further into the trees, in the the way little owls beg for food and headed that way. Sure enough this little fuzzball was hanging out waiting for a snack. Barred Owls are relatively new to British Columbia as they were able to make their way from Eastern Canada by stopping in at the planted homesteads along the prairies. They have eventually made their way to California in the 1980's Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com 2022
Barred Owl - Dogwood Park, BC
Barn Owl - Delta, BC Barn Owls are at the northern end of their range here in the Greater Vancouver area. A good deal of these birds are now having trouble finding homes as barns are torn down for safety reasons or eventually fall down. There are groups of people who have started putting up Barns on a stick with the first ones literally looking like a barn on a stick. The nest boxes now are
Barn Owl - Delta, BC
Snowy Owl - Melissa's Playground, BC Those feet double as snow shoes when this female bird is in the breeding range north of the artic circle. The talons doubles a back scratcher, but are mainly used for grabbing food on the fly. This bird decided to spend some of her time in one of the small towns on Victoria Island and hunt from the roof tops. The one particular thing we noticed was she started ducking down keeping her head on close to the roof when a couple of Bald Eagles made their way over her location. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Snowy Owl - Melissa's Playground, BC
Snowy Owl - Sidney, BC We were very happy to see this Snowy Owl when we showed up to the neighborhood where it was seen hunting the neighborhood from the roof tops. There are very few birds I like to photograph more than owls and this is one of the top 5 on my list. They are majestic and striking and can be very accepting of your presence or they may be very shy. Either way, it is important to make sure you give them space. This owl is a female, which can be identified by the amount black checking. Males tend to be very white with very little markings. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Snowy Owl - Sidney, BC
Great Horned Owl - Pitt Meadows, BC This owl was highly unimpressed. She had just been harassed by a pair of crows and then had to suffer the indignity of getting her photo taken immediately after. It was the crows that tipped us off that the bird was even there. Always nice to be able to see an owl during our treks out. I have mentioned before that our local birds here on the west
Great Horned Owl - Pitt Meadows, BC
Great-horned Owl - Delta, BC On a breezy day in the farmlands of Delta, a pair of Great-horned Owls were calling for their young to leave the safety of the nest. The first two owlets had made it out with one last chick left to go. These parents have been raising chicks here for at least 4 years from what I know and have been very successful with 3 fledglings at least a year. The
Great-horned Owl - Delta, BC
Barred Owl - South Surrey, BC A male Barred owl rests after a successful meeting with a female just 5 minutes before this picture. He was very content to pose for as many pictures as I wanted. Barred owls are not originally found here on the west coast but found their way here across the prairies as we built farms with trees that would let them roost for the night. There is are several biologists that believe that the spotted owl decline has a lot to do with this new resident. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Barred Owl - South Surrey, BC
Northern Pygmy-owl - Manning Park, BC We were lucky enough to catch a Northern Pygmy-owl hunting the slopes in Manning Park earlier this year. She was well up into a poplar scanning the edge for that mornings breakfast. It was snowing and sunny all at once and can see the flakes as the white lines. These are our smallest owls standing around 6 inches tall and range through-out the west coast from Alaska south into Central America. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Northern Pygmy-owl - Manning Park, BC
Barred Owl - Terra Nova Rural Park, BC A very alert Barred Owl was hunting just off the dyke in Terra Nova Rural Park in the early afternoon. His attention was drawn to the grass just below him, but he would occasionally spin his head to look directly behind him as well. The barred owl was originally only found on the eastern half of the continent but with the planting of trees on the prairies and the copious amount of rodents also following the settlers, Barred owls are now found on the west coast of North America. They believe it may be one of the reasons for the decline in Spotted Owls. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Barred Owl - Terra Nova Rural Park, BC
Short-eared Owl - Boundary Bay, BC On a very cold and blustery day I was fortunate enough to get a short-eared owl perched close to the dyke at Boundary Bay. He was looking for rodents in the tall grass and would hover above them and plunge down with his feet extended to grab the unsuspecting prey. The wind was blowing in from the water and was giving the owl a bit of a bad hair day. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.comPicture
Short-eared Owl - Boundary Bay, BC
Cuban Pygmy-owl - Santo Tomas, CU Some owls are daytime hunters and this Cuban Pygmy-Owl is one of them. They are for certain some of the mast amazing little raptors, but there is no doubt, they are proficient hunters. This particular bird was on the the road into Santo Tomas from Playa Larga in the Zapata Swamp. Adrian Cobas was our guide for this trip rounding out a amazing number of endemic species for Cuba and the Zapata
Cuban Pygmy-owl - Santo Tomas, CU
Barred Owl - Surrey, BC During the Pitt Meadows Christmas Bird Count, we ran into this silent hunter. He flew threw a cedar grove not giving us a chance to see him well, but around the corner, he was up on a perch while he watched two squirrels. Both squirrels had this birds number as they were chirping out an alarm the entire time. The owl was patient while he waited for things to calm down. More patients than us, so we carried on with the count. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Barred Owl - Surrey, BC
Barred Owl - Langley, BC Today was an easy birding day! The robins had found this beautiful own and were making sure that every other critter in the forest knew where he was too. There were Anna's Hummingbirds dive bombing him, Crows, even an American Goldfinch started chiming in. The owl of course was not too excited about the whole thing, but he wasn't about to get any shut eye. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Barred Owl - Langley, BC
Great Horned Owl - Langley Owls are always a favorite of mine to see. This particular Great Horned variety had a mate in the cedar next and up the tree. These birds are some of the most efficient hunters in North America and are found in almost every ecosystem. Each ecosystem shapes the owls that live there so that the great horned owls that live in the dessert are very light and less streaked like our Pacific North West are. These birds are living in a woodlot near the Nicomekl River. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Great Horned Owl - Langley
Great Gray Owl - Quilchena, BC There is nothing more special than seeing one of these great birds in the morning light. This wonderfully large owl was stalking a squirrel in a copse of poplar and you could hear the squirrel scolding the owl as it sat watching for the right moment to move. Great Gray Owls are typically found in the boreal forests or western mountains, but I have seen a couple of birds in the grass lands of the BC interior. This open landscape allows for plenty of prey to bring home to the nest. Great Grays are one of the largest owls in North America, but are not the heaviest. Their stocky build is only a well insulated set of feathers. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Great Gray Owl - Quilchena, BC
This wonderful night time wanderer comes to roost in one of the most fantastic barns. There are two birds that use this old time bit of history to shelter themselves from the daylight and aerial predators. In North America, Barn Owls are at one of their most northern limits here in Vancouver, BC. The venture further north in Europe well into Northern Scotland and Southern Sweden. With the removal of old barns, the owls are in danger of disappearing from the landscape. There are several groups that are coming together to have barns on a stick made for them to use. Picture
Barn Owl - Delta
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Northern Saw-whet Owl - Delta, BC
Short-eared Owl Delta BC Brunswick point is a fantastic place to bird in the winter. While I was walking the point this weekend I was lucky enough to see three Short-eared owls hunting the marsh cattail beds. Two of the owls would enter into aerial dogfights occasionally when they were close enought. It seemed to be harmless enough and there didn't seem to matter where the birds were over the marsh so I took it to maybe be young birds testing out their new skills. It is always easy to tell the short-ears from the harriers as they do not have the white rump bar but whats more is they have a very bouncy flight. Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus bird Brunswick Point Delta BC British Columbia Canada cattails bullrush marsh Georgia Strait Vancouver brown reed grass blogger com outdoor Picture
Short-eared Owl - Delta
Hawaiian Short-eared Owl - Old Saddle Road, HI The one owl found on the islands is the Hawaiian Short-eared Owl. It is said that the Polynesians brought the bird with them on their journey from their home islands. Short eared owls are day time birds and spend most of that time soaring over the grasslands in search of food. This was a bird found on the side of Old Saddle road on the big island of Hawaii. Michael W Klotz 2016 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Hawaiian Short-eared Owl - Old Saddle Road, HI
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Barred Owl - Webster's Corners
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Long-eared Owl - Boundary Bay, BC
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Barn Owls - Barnston Island, BC
Burrowing Owl - Tsawwassen, BC One of my best finds and couldn't tell anyone at the time. This fantastic little owl was along the Tswwassen Ferry Jetty a couple weeks back. I have traveled back several times and could not relocate him. I have also sent along the band numbers to the correct authorities and it turns out this male was born in the wild and has had numerous chicks since, in the interior of British Columbia. I would recommend looking into the Burrowing Owl Society of BC and maybe putting a donation towards keeping these fantastic owls from disappearing for good......... again. My apologies to the rest of the birders that would have like to have seen this guy. He was just too close to traffic and I didn't want to be the reason he didn't make it back next spring. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Burrowing Owl - Tsawwassen, BC
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