Photo: Barred Owl fledglings, Dorli Bokel
Lisa Mackem
Barred Owlet, Dorli Bokel
Reston resident Dorli Bokel doesn’t consider herself a birder, but she loves the Barred Owls that she often hears nearby – especially the young ones. “I love watching them turn their heads – almost like it’s on a rotation axel. The fuzzy babies are adorable.” Recently, she saw one of the owlets fledge, right on her deck railing. “I just looked outside, and the owlet was just sitting there. It started turning around, trying to get its footing…timidly walked for a bit, turned, and walked more. We were mesmerized.” Dorli estimates that the owlet spent five hours on her deck, then returned two days later. She took this video on the first day and additional pictures on the following days.
Unlike most young birds, Barred Owl chicks fledge before they can fly. They leave their nest when they are 4-8 weeks old but don’t master flight until they are up to 12 weeks old. Dorli doesn’t know how the owlet in her video got to her deck railing, where she says there is nothing to climb on, and the trees surrounding it are very high. However, Barred owlets are known to climb out of their nest using their beaks or talons to sit on branches, and hop to nearby limbs or other surfaces, climbing up to 15 feet.
Dorli noticed early this spring that the owls hooted during the day. Now she only hears them at night. This pattern matches the Barred Owl mating season, with courtship activities beginning in February and breeding between March – August.
Barred Owls mate for life, and usually have a single clutch of 2-3 white eggs each year. The incubation period lasts 28-33 days. After they hatch, young Barred Owls can stay near the nest for up to 6 months, rarely straying from each other and often sitting side by side. Adults care for their young for up to four months – much longer than many owl species. Most Barred Owls remain close to their birthplace and their nest sites can be maintained for years.
Northern Virginia residents hear Barred Owls often, and sightings are not uncommon. Dorli hopes that someone else will share her unique experience of watching an owlet fledge.
More than a century ago, Harriet Tubman used her knowledge of the natural world, including the call of the Barred Owl, in her efforts to guide people to freedom. Read the full story from Audubon.