# Any tips on spotting an owl? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533 "2010-02-18T21:01:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/1 "2010-02-18T21:01:26Z")
I’m not a birdwatcher. There’s an owl living relatively nearby. I’m thinking once it warms up slightly and the snow goes away, I might go out and try to spot him. No particular reason why. I just find his calls comforting and would like to see the creature that is making them. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/2 "2010-02-18T21:08:15Z")
Depends on where you are and what kind of owl you are looking for. In winter, owls can often be found in their day roosts, most frequently in conifer trees. Walk through a grove of pines or hemlocks, looking for a dark lump up high near the trunk. Also, owls can be sometimes be found near their nest sites in hollow trees. Great Horned Owls nest in February in the eastern US. You may be able to locate one by walking through the area where you heard one calling at night. Barn owls nest in barns or other abandoned buildings or under bridges. Are you in New Jersey? What does the owl call sound like? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/3 "2010-02-18T21:12:02Z")
Go out while there’s still some snow, and look for owl pellets. That’ll tell you which trees he hangs in. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/4 "2010-02-18T21:15:28Z")
Hold it down very tightly and use a permanent marker. Repeat every few days. You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/5 "2010-02-18T21:20:18Z")
For a beginner try the _Strix occidentalis_. You won’t need the marker. It is already spotted. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/6 "2010-02-18T21:22:37Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Go out while there’s still some snow, and look for owl pellets. That’ll tell you which trees he hangs in. You can also look for “whitewash” on tree trunks or under branches, which will indicate the roost site. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/7 "2010-02-18T21:23:55Z")
And the nest of the _Athene cunicularia_ is fairly well known. If you don’t know where it lives, some people might think you’re on crack! ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/8 "2010-02-18T21:48:35Z")
I’d managed to get good enough at my owl imitations to be able to call them in-in which case they’ll often hoot back, and we’ll have this sort of “dialogue” back and forth. Haven’t done it much lately, because it can be a distraction in the breeding season at least. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/9 "2010-02-18T21:53:27Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’d managed to get good enough at my owl imitations to be able to call them in-in which case they’ll often hoot back, and we’ll have this sort of “dialogue” back and forth. Haven’t done it much lately, **because it can be a distraction in the breeding season at least**. Yours or theirs? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/10 "2010-02-18T21:57:13Z")
When do you here the calls? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/11 "2010-02-18T22:13:06Z")
I’ve spotted owls in the day before by looking for dark football-shaped spots deep in the branches of a tree, most often close to the trunk. Don’t be looking for a bird, per se, just be pattern scanning for footballs balanced on end on branches. Once you find a football, look closer to make sure it’s not an owl. Kinda silly, but it’s worked for me. Perching owls are football-shaped. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/12 "2010-02-18T22:22:37Z")
When I lived out in the country on about 20 acres, I had a family great horned owls (4 total) that would roost in my backyard on my son’s swingset every evening about dusk. They were looking for large bugs and rodents that were in our backyard. It was great watching them through the patio french doors about 30 feet away from the house. They were there year round. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/13 "2010-02-18T22:30:20Z")
The last time I saw an owl, it was a barred owl in my own backyard. I would never have known it had visited (I was inside at the time) were it not for a male cardinal, who was kicking up the most tremendous fuss. I finally went outside to see what all the racket was, and saw the bright red cardinal in the fading light of dusk, flitting around - but not too near - a large huddled shape, and making more noise than you could believe. He was Very Righteously Pissed that the owl was there, and being very vocal about it. Many birds pester owls, especially around nesting season, and blue jays and crows are particularly well-known for harassing owls until they leave. So my advice is to pay attention to the other littler birds around you. If something starts to \*really \*upset them … it might be your owl! (In fact, just the other week as I was taking out the trash I heard a racket way up above me and looked up in time to see a huge hawk flying as fast as it could, and two crows flying behind and above it, where it couldn’t attack them, chasing it off.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/14 "2010-02-19T02:12:28Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Many birds pester owls, especially around nesting season, and blue jays and crows are particularly well-known for harassing owls until they leave. So my advice is to pay attention to the other littler birds around you. If something starts to \*really \*upset them … it might be your owl! Good point. This can be a excellent way to find owls. If you see a bunch of birds squawking and flying around in a small area, try to find what is the center of their attention. Often it will be an owl semi-concealed in a bunch of leaves. The first Snowy Owl I ever saw was on the roof of my neighbor’s house in the Bronx. As I left my house, I heard a bunch of crows going nuts in the backyard. I went to see what they had, expecting it to be a Red-tailed Hawk. Amazingly, it was a Snowy Owl sitting on the roof and looking very pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/15 "2010-02-19T05:25:20Z")
Spotting owls will not change their endangered status. Spotted owls are supposed to be that way naturally. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/16 "2010-02-19T05:59:01Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > When do you here the calls? And how did it get your number? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/17 "2010-02-19T14:00:57Z")
Once you find where the owl roosts, inspection of the ground beneath the tree can lead to finding castings (indigestible stuff). ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/18 "2010-02-19T14:06:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Are you in New Jersey? What does the owl call sound like? Yes, Southern NJ. It sounds a lot like [this](http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Bubo-virginianus-6.mp3), which is identified on the [referring page](http://www.owlpages.com/sounds.php) as a great horned owl. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/19 "2010-02-19T14:19:30Z")
> [@JerseyFrank](#): > > Yes, Southern NJ. It sounds a lot like [this](http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Bubo-virginianus-6.mp3), which is identified on the [referring page](http://www.owlpages.com/sounds.php) as a great horned owl. Great Horneds are pretty common and relatively easy to see because of their size. I do the Audubon Christmas count in the Bronx every year in Pelham Bay Park. We almost always get a few by looking for roosting birds in pine and hemlock groves, or around a known nest in a hollow tree. More often than not, the birds are actually located for us by Blue Jays or crows that are harassing them. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533/20 "2010-02-19T14:32:11Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Great Horneds are pretty common and relatively easy to see because of their size. I do the Audubon Christmas count in the Bronx every year in Pelham Bay Park. We almost always get a few by looking for roosting birds in pine and hemlock groves, or around a known nest in a hollow tree. More often than not, the birds are actually located for us by Blue Jays or crows that are harassing them. Is it best to go during the day, dusk, night? All I’ve got is a set of binoculars and a set of ears. I hear him mostly at night, but I don’t think he commutes to work; he’s probably there in the daytime too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-on-spotting-an-owl/529533.md?page=2)