{"id":8632,"date":"2017-02-15T10:26:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T15:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=8632"},"modified":"2023-10-11T13:56:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T17:56:02","slug":"owling-101-how-to-spot-an-owl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/owling-101-how-to-spot-an-owl\/","title":{"rendered":"Owling 101: How to Spot an Owl"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 and listening for owls\u2014either at a wildlife sanctuary\u00a0or even in your own backyard!<\/p>\n

The Secret Is…<\/h3>\n

…That there is no great secret to owling. The best thing to do, though, is to listen and study calls in advance. There are only a handful of species in Massachusetts in winter, so it is an easy group of birds to learn and listen for. Learn more about the eight owl species commonly found in Massachusetts and listen to recordings of their calls<\/a> on our website.<\/p>\n

Once you’ve got a few calls down pat, just go outside and start listening! Steer clear of windy nights because it can be hard to hear, and it’s best to avoid using a flashlight unless you need to since they can scare off the owls. For this reason, nights with bright moonlight are perfect for owling.<\/p>\n

\"Great

Great Horned Owl<\/p><\/div>\n

What to Listen and Look For<\/h3>\n

This time of year, you’ll hear great horned owls, found throughout most of the state, calling around dusk. If they duet (two owls calling to one another), they are likely courting. You can tell male from female by the pitch: the females tend to “hoo, hoo” at a higher pitch than the baritone males.<\/p>\n

Screech owls will nest in Boston backyards and use nestboxes readily (of course, so do squirrels!). Ounce for ounce, they are among the toughest owls around.\u00a0Barred owls, found in most of Massachusetts other than the southeast, will call during the day with their famous refrain of “Who cooks for you?<\/em>”<\/p>\n

Of course, snowy owls are in a category by themselves; these large owls breed in the Arctic, but can often be seen during their migrations in spring and fall.<\/p>\n

\"Barred

Barred Owl \u00a9 Rene Laubach\/Mass Audubon<\/p><\/div>\n

Once you start to hear owls regularly in the same place, you can look for nests and later for owl “pellets”\u2014regurgitated bones, fur, and feathers from their most recent meal\u2014and eventually downy chicks.<\/p>\n

Find a Program<\/h3>\n

Not ready to go on your own? You can always join an Owl Prowl program<\/a> at one of our wildlife sanctuaries to benefit from the expert guidance of one of our naturalists. Happy owling!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 and listening for owls\u2014either at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"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":true,"_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":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature-notes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-2fe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10408,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-great-horned-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":8632,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Great Horned Owls","author":"Ryan D.","date":"January 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great horned owl \u00a9 Phil Sorrentino","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/01\/604Phil_Sorrentino9714_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/01\/604Phil_Sorrentino9714_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/01\/604Phil_Sorrentino9714_1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12389,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-owl-things-considered\/","url_meta":{"origin":8632,"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":3016,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/snowy-owl-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":8632,"position":2},"title":"Snowy Owl Update","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"December 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Currently New England is hosting a major incursion of snowy owls, many of which will likely spend the winter in our area. Typically these Arctic visitors tend to appear most frequently near the coast, but the first report this year was inland at Mount Wachusett in Princeton on November 17.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Owl copyright David Larson","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/12\/snowyowldavelarson-1024x787.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13706,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-barred-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":8632,"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":3167,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/january-2014-snowy-owl-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":8632,"position":4},"title":"January 2014 Snowy Owl Update","author":"Hillary T.","date":"January 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In case you haven't heard, this is the winter of snowy owls. And no one knows this better than Norman Smith, snowy owl expert and sanctuary directory of Mass Audubon's Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton. For more than 30 years, Smith has been trapping snowy owls at Boston's Logan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Project Updates"","block_context":{"text":"Project Updates","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/project-updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.massaudubon.org\/var\/ezdemo_site\/storage\/images\/media\/departments\/lww\/birds\/snowy-owl-quick-guide\/170305-1-eng-US\/snowy-owl-quick-guide.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2808,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/meet-our-tiniest-owl\/","url_meta":{"origin":8632,"position":5},"title":"Meet Our Tiniest Owl","author":"Rosemary","date":"October 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) is the smallest owl in Massachusetts. As a nearly silent, nocturnal bird of deep woods, it\u2019s also one of the hardest to spot. Identifying the Saw-whet If you\u2019re lucky enough to see this bird, the first thing you may notice is the size. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/10\/Saw-whet-Owl_Heather-Cooper_OK-TO-USE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/10\/Saw-whet-Owl_Heather-Cooper_OK-TO-USE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/10\/Saw-whet-Owl_Heather-Cooper_OK-TO-USE.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\/8632","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=8632"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17861,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8632\/revisions\/17861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}