Great Horned Owl in Kitchener

by Jasper
(Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)

Great Horned Owl

Helloo ho hoo hoo!

I have a Great Horned Owl living in the backyard within city limits.

We have incredibly tall trees which are frequented by Crows (on the endangered species list; can you believe it!) and squirrels. It's interesting to note that the crows will chase a squirrel in the trees and unsure if it is because the squirrels are eating their eggs or the crows find them to be prey. However, the female Great Horned Owl isn't bothered and nor are the crows which obviously know that she is there.

She typically is seen at dusk when the rabbits come out. On a clear night with a low moon, she will hoot for about an hour. She will stay still in one location for about 20 minutes, preening herself for about 5 minutes at the halfway mark and then fly off but not too far.

She isn't too curious about me (even with my mocking rendition of her calls) but that's been my experience with the ladies throughout my entire life, so am used to it.

Unlike the little, cute Owls I see lined up on fences in Florida, this girl takes the cake and is twice the size of our largest Hawks.

I hope she stays because the squirrels are costing me a fortune in bird seed!

Thank you for submitting this report to our website - I found a picture of a Great Horned Owl and have added that ... I hope you don't mind!

I will also post this on our facebook page as I know our facebook followers will enjoy it.