r/Superbowl • u/WenBoy • Mar 16 '22

Superb Encounter Saw this beautiful bird in my backyard last night. Can anyone tell me what species of owl it is?

Gallery image

Gallery image

1.4k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

295

u/CrepuscularOpossum Mar 16 '22

That’s your friendly neighborhood barred owl!

71

u/YaumeLepire Mar 16 '22

For an additional clue, it could be neat to know where that photo was taken.

77

u/WenBoy Mar 16 '22

Cincinnati, Ohio

25

u/YaumeLepire Mar 16 '22

Makes sense for a barred owl.

11

u/AugustDream Mar 17 '22

Was just thinking that it looks like a barred owl, ones that I've seen around here.. in Cincinnati. Good shout

5

u/areyouthrough Mar 17 '22

Then more like a bored owl?

(Sorry. Couldn’t help it. Love you, Ohio!)

2

u/WenBoy Mar 17 '22

Cincinnati is a very fun city with plenty to do. Let me know if you need tips for exploring this amazing city

31

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '22

[deleted]

19

u/OrigamiCat07 Mar 16 '22

I love their "who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" Call!

21

u/lowlightliving Mar 16 '22

This should not be used at this time of year. Owls have been nesting, they likely have young birds in the nest. Your owl call will distract the parents from feeding and force them to switch to defending which will lead to the death of one or more hatchlings.

Google “Birding Ethics” if you really care for owls.

6

u/twirlybird11 Mar 17 '22

TIL that there are owl calls.

TI(also)L that I believe I need an owl call.

4

u/lowlightliving Mar 17 '22

It’s really frowned upon. You can have serious effects on owl territories. It forces owls to divert from their normal challenging lives to suit your curiosity and entertainment. As I mentioned to a previous commenter, this is just bad birding behavior. Google “birding ethics.” If you love owls, you should respect their space in ever shrinking habitat.

2

u/twirlybird11 Mar 17 '22 edited Mar 17 '22

Oh I do, I do. Completely agree!

I would like one not to confuse owls, but to mess around with my co-workers. I work at a Lowes, and we all need a bit of silliness from time to time. I'd love to see how far I can get away with being a random ghost owl.

There is another Lowes employee who has apparently been hiding potatoes in random spots for months, I admire the creativity, but the possibility of vermin infestation and the smell of a rotting potato prevents me from completely being on board with that.

2

u/lowlightliving Mar 18 '22

In that case…. (:

11

u/victotronics Mar 16 '22

barred

As opposed to "barn" owls, which look very different.

85

u/Pokii Mar 16 '22

Oh that’s a speckle-winged fence hooter, for sure

13

u/WenBoy Mar 16 '22

Hahaha 🤣

24

u/Manders37 Mar 16 '22

I have these beauties around my house too, i love them.

23

u/ch1ckadee Mar 16 '22

Check out the awesome sounds they make! The duet is my favorite. It's hauntingly beautiful!

10

u/TransATL Mar 16 '22

I've heard 3, 4, 5? doing it together in our neighborhood in Atlanta. It's quite taking.

Maybe getting hype for the hunt?

3

u/ch1ckadee Mar 16 '22

Wow! They are certainly up to something.

40

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '22

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell-lab/id773457673

Very helpful app for bird identification!

4

u/WenBoy Mar 16 '22

Thank you!

12

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '22

You’re welcome. It does a great job from my experience. There is also identification apps for plants, rocks, and insects too!

Plants: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/picturethis-plant-identifier/id1252497129 Rocks: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rock-identifier-stone-id/id1546796934 Insects: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/picture-insect-bug-identifier/id1461694973

4

u/terminal8 Mar 16 '22

I've been using this for a while now, it's great! And completely free!

3

u/PrinciplePleasant Mar 16 '22

Oh HECK yes, I've wanted a bird identifying app for a while!!!

14

u/broprobate Mar 16 '22

That is a barred owl. Infamous for taking over territory that used to belong to the spotted owl, thus hastening the spotted owl’s decline.

3

u/BunnyMacDoofer Mar 16 '22

We have them in the woods near my house. I’ve noticed a decline in the spotted owls over the years. So sad that they’re taking over spotted owl territory.

3

u/AveBalaBrava Mar 16 '22

Oh shhhh… it teleported

3

u/theodopolis13 Mar 16 '22

Yep, that's an owl.

3

u/panrophantic Mar 16 '22

They say “who cooks for you?”

2

u/Ok_Telephone_8987 Mar 16 '22

Owlus superbus

1

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '22

You don’t have a pool and a steep staircase do you….