Common Barn Owl
Last night…. before it was really dark, we had quite a show in our backyard!
We have known for some time we have owls in the BIG Valley Oak Trees in the undeveloped lot behind our house. We can hear them (screeching) and once in a while we see something really BIG flying about at night time. Since “birds” don’t fly around at night and it’s too big to be a bat, we have presumed that it was an owl. I was pretty sure there were two, but we were just making guesses.
We were watching TV, weaving, putzing on the iPad when Dave yelled to look out the window as he saw something swooping about. Sure enough we could see two flying at the same time and one perched a couple of times on our fence. 
It is known by many other names: Common Barn Owl, White Owl, Silver Owl, Demon Owl, Ghost Owl, Death Owl, Night Owl, Rat Owl, Church Owl, Cave Owl, Stone Owl, Monkey-faced Owl, Hissing Owl, Hobgoblin or Hobby Owl, Dobby Owl,White Breasted Owl, Golden Owl, Scritch Owl, Screech Owl, Straw Owl, Barnyard Owl and Delicate Owl. Just to name a few! Wikipedia Link here
So the ground squirrels, which have disappeared again, have the Falcon during the day and the Owls at night to contend with. I really don’t think we need to do much on that score.
I’m thinking that I have actually seen more than two, just not at the same time and that perhaps there are some youngsters, but I’m not sure. I’ll be keeping an extra eye out now and since they start swooping about just before it gets really dark – I’ll be looking out back more to see if I can catch more than two flying at the same time. What fun.
I’m always amazed at what can live in the burbs if you just look.
Of course I saw a RAT strolling across my yard and into the court over toward my neighbors the other day like he owned the place. I’m putting out a sign for the owls tomorrow! Haha
In our old house in Brookeville, MD, we had a young hawk, a fox den with 2-5 kits (pups) every summer, a pileated woodpecker, and of course lots of deer and tree squirrels and even a few chip monks, along with a lovely variety of backyard birds. Even in our old townhouse we had a pigeon hawk that used to swoop in to catch a bird at my feeder and he would preen outside my kitchen window about two feet from me. In our apartment (ground floor) we had a young opossum that would meander across my patio regularly. Remind me to tell you a funny story about that with Dave and his mother.
Oh, how gorgeous! 20+ years ago, my bro and his little girls came to visit….. during a walk through the woods, an owl flew over us and continued down the cleared path. It was one of the most exciting nature views for me! Would LOVE to see one again!
hi lori,
oh, the beauty and intrigue of nature! my mom passed on to us 8 children the joy of observing all manner of animals, plants, trees, the sky and water. and i have had a lifetime of enjoyment, wonder, and comfort from seeing things, sometimes with weary eyes and soul – and it always thrills me, makes me so appreciative to be able to feel a surge of happiness that’s like a tonic. hugh and i are always looking – out our garden room window, at a nearby pond we pass in the car, and on the road through The Great Swamp Wilderness here locally. the very best is when we spot something, extraordinary, fleeting, beautiful – we say to ourselves, “i bet we are the only two people in the whole world who saw that; aren’t we SO lucky?! it is always a moment of special intimacy to share unexpected sights of nature. i loved this post – another example of how many gifts life offers to comfort us, enthrall us, and take our minds to a celebratory flight of joy. thanks for sharing the back yard show you and dave got to see. hope it continues in spades (i.e. owlets!)
warm hugs to you and dave,
karen