Sitting with an Owl
On a day in late August, I decided to head back to an area that I had recently spotted a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) and a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) a day earlier. The area was a mix of hard and softwoods and the understory was bare with pockets of mountain laurel and other low growing brush. I decided to go out in search of the great horned owl again, even though I knew the search would likely come up empty. I try not to go out specifically in search of owls to reduce the frustration of not finding them. Owls, by there very nature, are secretive and elusive animals. They survive by remaining hidden in the canopies of trees. Even with this knowledge I have spent a lot of time looking for owls. After a while you begin to develop an idea in your head of what habitats they are likely to be found in and this increases your chances slightly.
In my most recent experiences, the owls in the area seemed to prefer deciduous trees, particularly oak trees with large horizontal branches. These horizontal branches provide a nice place to perch for a variety of wildlife. These horizontal branches and the upturned trees that don’t fall all the way to the ground create a diversity in the forest. This diversity creates an increase in habitats and niches for different wildlife to survive.
So, I continued down the trail, straining my neck looking up at the canopies in search of an owl. If you have ever seen an owl, you know that they have a distinct silhouette in the trees. Think of a small log sitting in the tree. This mental image makes it a little easier to spot an owl. In fact it is a good example of the frequency illusion or the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. This states that once you notice something for the first time, you become increasingly aware of it in places you never noticed it before. Once you establish this mental image, you are able to see it easier. This does not mean that there are suddenly more of this object out there, you just simply have a mental image of it now and are able to recognize the subtleties of it.
Now that I have bored you with a psychology lesson, back to the forest.
By now, I had already past the location where I had found the owl yesterday. I continued down the trail and the forest began to change to a much younger forest dominated by maples and birches. These young maples and birches are made up of mostly vertical branches and do not offer very good perches for large birds such as owls. I switched gears and began to look at ground level. The understory was becoming more established and there were mixed multifloral rose bushes and other shrubs. This would be a good spot to potentially find a deer foraging or bedded down for the day. This shrubby habitat could even be a good spot to find rabbits, which means that potentially fox or coyote might be in the area.
I rounded a bend in the trail and a white-tailed deer doe was foraging in the brush. I wondered if she was the same one I had seen yesterday. Rather than cause her to flee, I decided to try something I had read. I put my head down and avoided eye contact and remained still. After a minute she returned eating and appeared undisturbed by my presence. Once she returned to eating, I continued slowly down the trail avoiding eye contact and keeping my head down. I was excited to see that she remained there eating as I moved further away from her.
I progressed up hill and back into the forest dominated by white pine, hemlock, and oaks. I was walking slowly and methodically careful not to make too much noise from snapping twigs. There had been rain the night before, so the leaves were still damp making it a little easier to walk quietly.
I decided to head over to a small clearing in the forest. The canopy was open and there was a small clump of mountain laurel that I thought might be a good spot for songbirds to stop as they were passing though. I had heard Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) in the canopy as I was walking. I hoped some may come down from the canopy and rest on the lower brush.
As I was setting up my stool to sit on, I heard a commotion of birds to my left. There were tufted titmouse, chickadees, and nuthatches all sounding their alarm calls. I knew they were not angry at my presence so that meant there may be something over there that they fear. I knew I had to head over in that direction to check it out. I was anxious because I knew that this type of commotion could mean that there was an owl nearby. I moved slowly and deliberately, careful not to make too much noise. There were a few oak trees as well as a mix of birches and pines. I walked over toward a large red oak. The chickadees were calling multiple alarm calls just about right above my head. I knew I was close. There was a large branch that came out of the main trunk of the tree. I traced this branch away from the trunk and there it was. A beautiful Barred Owl (Strix varia)perched on the branch blending in completely with the bark of the oak tree.
I was practically right below the owl at this point. I had not seen it until this point, and it did not appear to notice me either. The small songbirds were mobbing the owl, dive bombing it and trying to get it to fly away. The owl had enough and flew off a few yards into a hemlock tree where the birds could no longer get too close to it.
The owl perched and rested in the hemlock. I could barely see it but I knew it knew I was there at this point. I could see it looking at me. I decided to stay where I was and sit for a few minutes to allow it to get used to my presence. I did not have a good view of it at this point due to the density of the hemlock needles and birch trees in my way. If I wanted to get any photos of the bird, I would have to move to a different spot, all the while not disturbing the owl and causing it to flee. After about 15 minutes, I decided the owl was used to my presence. I left my backpack where it was so I would be lighter and able to move quieter.
I moved slowly and as quietly as I could. I was on my hands and knees moving one hand and leg at a time. The pine needles on the forest floor aided to dampen some of the sound of me moving. I knew I had to move forward and to my right to be able to have a better view of the owl. I was able to move about 30 feet when I realized that I had lost sight of the owl and I no longer knew which tree it was in. It is amazing how even though you know the owl is there, you still can’t see it due to its camouflage.
I decided to move forward a little further and was able to eventually find where the owl was once again. The owl was resting with its eyes closed at the top of the hemlock I had last seen him in. This made me very happy. The owl was not disturbed by my moving around. I crept into a position that I could partially see the owl. The spot the owl was in was covered by many branches of the hemlock and also three birch trees that were growing between me and the hemlock tree.
I realized that no matter where I moved, as long as the owl was in that spot, I was not going to have a clear photo opportunity. Instead, I focused on observing the owl to watch its behavior.
Barred Owl rests quietly hidden in a hemlock tree. The owl looks down for a moment before going back to sleep.
The next few hours went by quickly. I watched as the owl took little cat naps ranging from 5 to 30 minutes. Upon waking up, the owl would stretch a wing or preen some of its feathers. A few times the owl exposed its bright yellow feet from behind its fluffy chest feathers to stretch its head. It amazes me that they are able to scratch their heads with those sharp little talons that are equally able to grasp and kill prey.
The owl clearly knew I was there as every now and then he would open his eyes to look down at me. A few hours went by and all of a sudden, my stomach dropped. There was a loud commotion of blue jays coming from behind me. I thought they had found the owl and were going to start mobbing it. I was careful not to move an inch as to not draw any attention to my silent friend. To my surprise, the owl did not seem to mind. Then to even greater surprise, a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) perched on a branch only a few feet away from me. I did not have a clear shot of it but I saw it fly in. The blue jays were calling loudly and mobbing the hawk. After a minute or so, the hawk had had enough of the blue jays and flew off further into the forest. The jays followed him and the owl relaxed and went back to napping. I was even more impressed that the owl did not seem concerned that a second aerial predator was so close by.
The owl went back to napping.
I had been there a few hours now and it was time for me to leave and let the owl nap in peace. It was important for me to leave the area and still have the owl resting peacefully in the tree. I moved slowly and deliberately back to where my backpack was.
It is just as important to not disturb an animal after you have spent time with it as it is to not disturb to animal leading up to the photo. On my slow journey away from the owl, I paused periodically to ensure the owl was not bothered by my movement. The owl would open its eyes partially to look in my direction but then close them again after a few seconds. After about a half hour I made it the 25 yards back to my backpack were I was able to finish packing up and hike out.
Most days when I go out in search for an owl, I come up empty.But today I was able to find an owl and spend some time with it.Even though I was not able to get any great pictures of the experience, I will still remember this day as a day I was able to sit with an owl.
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-Todd
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