While searching for Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) on an alder flat along the Duckabush River last week, something caught my eye as it took flight. It soon landed in a nearby tree and, to my surprise, was a large owl. For about 40 minutes, it looked curiously around its setting--mostly in the direction of noisy squirrels and song birds.
We knew that it was either the endangered spotted owl or the "invasive" barred owl. Although the barred owl is usually larger, they look quite similar in marking, so the best way to id them is by their sound. In those 40 minutes, the thing made nary a peep--or hoot rather. Try as we might to entice a little song, we couldn't get it to respond to our terrible calls with anything more than a skeptical blink of the eyes.
The Park's owl biologist later identified it as the barred owl. Although these guys are taking over what's left of the spotted owl habitat out here, it was pretty special to get to spend time with this creature.
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