{"id":10408,"date":"2018-01-22T06:30:46","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T11:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=10408"},"modified":"2018-01-23T11:34:09","modified_gmt":"2018-01-23T16:34:09","slug":"take-5-great-horned-owls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-great-horned-owls\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Great Horned Owls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although great horned owls are year-round residents of Massachusetts, December through February is a particularly good time to go “owling” for this iconic species.<\/p>\n

The earliest owl to begin mating season, great horned owls often “duet” in courting pairs, a hauntingly beautiful, stuttering “hoo-hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo” sound. And while males are typically smaller than females, they have larger voice boxes, so you can identify the male voice in a duet by its distinctively lower pitch.<\/p>\n

On our website, you listen to a great horned owl call<\/a> and even report a sighting<\/a>. Below, enjoy these five photos of great horned owls from past years of our Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest.<\/p>\n

\"Great

Great horned owl \u00a9 Katherine Sayn-Wittgenstein<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Great

Great horned owl \u00a9 Phil Sorrentino<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Juvenile

Juvenile Great Horned Owls \u00a9 Maureen Fregeau<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Juvenile

Juvenile Great Horned Owl \u00a9 Libby Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Great

Great Horned Owl \u00a9 Emily Swartz<\/p><\/div>\n

CORRECTION: This blog post originally featured a photo that was misidentified as a Great Horned Owl but is actually a Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo<\/em>). Thank you to all the careful readers who pointed out our mistake!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although great horned owls are year-round residents of Massachusetts, December through February is a particularly good time to go “owling” for this iconic species. The earliest owl to begin mating season, great horned owls often “duet” in courting pairs, a hauntingly beautiful, stuttering “hoo-hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo” sound. And while males are typically smaller than females, they have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":10434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,137,80,83,84],"class_list":["post-10408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-birding","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-photo-contest","tag-photography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/01\/604Phil_Sorrentino9714_1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-2HS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8632,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/owling-101-how-to-spot-an-owl\/","url_meta":{"origin":10408,"position":0},"title":"Owling 101: How to Spot an Owl","author":"Ryan D.","date":"February 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"You may be surprised to learn that owls can be heard in most neighborhoods and backyards, even in Boston and the near suburbs. Since many owl species begin looking for mates in winter\u00a0and are at their most vocal this time of year, now is the perfect time to go \"owling\"\u2014looking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/02\/Great-Horned-Owl1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/02\/Great-Horned-Owl1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/02\/Great-Horned-Owl1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/02\/Great-Horned-Owl1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12389,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-owl-things-considered\/","url_meta":{"origin":10408,"position":1},"title":"Take 5: Owl Things Considered","author":"Ryan D.","date":"February 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It may still be cold and wintery outside, but things are heating up for our breeding owl species. Late winter is the height of the courtship and mating season for most owl species so there's a good chance you may hear a \"hoo's hoo\" of mating calls (although not all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern Screech-Owl \u00a9 Amy Powers-Smith","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/02\/2795Amy_PowersSmith11920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/02\/2795Amy_PowersSmith11920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/02\/2795Amy_PowersSmith11920.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/02\/2795Amy_PowersSmith11920.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15791,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-great-horned-owlets\/","url_meta":{"origin":10408,"position":2},"title":"Take 5: Great Horned Owlets","author":"Ryan D.","date":"May 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Great Horned Owls are one of the earliest birds to breed in Massachusetts, with courtship beginning as early as December. They are not cavity nesters, but use old Red-tailed Hawk or Great Blue Heron nests, often at the top of dead tree snags. With a little luck, you may be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl \u00a9 John Harrison","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/717JOHN_HARRISON34601-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/717JOHN_HARRISON34601-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/717JOHN_HARRISON34601-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/717JOHN_HARRISON34601-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13706,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-barred-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":10408,"position":3},"title":"Take 5: Barred Owls","author":"Ryan D.","date":"March 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Solemnity is what they express\u2014fit representatives of the night.\u201d\u2014Henry David Thoreau The shy but stocky Barred Owl does indeed cut a solemn figure, with its soulful, dark brown, almost black eyes and stripes of mottled brown and white crossing its body. Many nighttime travelers in the New England woods have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Barred Owl \u00a9 Cynthia Rand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/6039Cynthia_Rand30889.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/6039Cynthia_Rand30889.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/6039Cynthia_Rand30889.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/03\/6039Cynthia_Rand30889.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15703,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-freebirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":10408,"position":4},"title":"Take 5: Freebirds","author":"Ryan D.","date":"May 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Mass Audubon's annual Bird-a-thon is an amazing event that allows us to share our love for birds and, thankfully, the number of participants grows each year. We have always been mindful that while this event has unmatched potential for getting people excited about birds, birding, and conservation, it also has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Barred Owl \u00a9 Jenny Zhao","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/5457Jenny_Zhao33490-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/5457Jenny_Zhao33490-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/5457Jenny_Zhao33490-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/5457Jenny_Zhao33490-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5417,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/trailside-to-the-rescue\/","url_meta":{"origin":10408,"position":5},"title":"Trailside to the Rescue","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When\u00a0four great horned owl chicks and their nest blew out of their tree near Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton due to high winds in early May, the team at Trailside knew exactly what to do.\u00a0Trailside has successfully placed\u00a03,000 baby hawks and owls into foster nests over the past 30\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Stuff We Love"","block_context":{"text":"Stuff We Love","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/stuff-we-love\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo by Dan Burton ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/GHO_1-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/GHO_1-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/GHO_1-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10408"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10439,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10408\/revisions\/10439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}