Today I was walking past the french doors to my deck and was absolutely SHOCKED to see a Barred Owl sitting on the railing looking straight into my house! He flew off before I could even move – so no chance at a picture. I went online to try and find a picture that was similar (I didn’t know what kind it was). Your pic here could have been MY pic, had I been able to take one! He looked exactly the same (including the deck railing!). I live in Missouri, so I did a search on Missouri Convservation’s website, and there’s no doubt it’s a Barred Owl (there are no Spotted Owls in Missouri).

I, too, was blown away by how huge “my” owl was! Of course, I’ve never seen one so close before – and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Barred Owl. The Great Horned Owls are the most common in Missouri. I hear lots of hooting at night, though, but not sure which kind I’m hearing.

The funniest thing is, I had been in my living room with my 4 year old son, moving around and putting things away, and there was a video playing on our TV. The angle that the owl was sitting at was in a direct line to the TV, and it looked like he had been watching it! :O (There was a cartoon on.) He also had to have seen my son and I moving around the room. It was daytime (late afternoon), but cloudy outside, so it would have been easy for him to see in. When I walked from the living room into the eating area where the french doors are, that’s when I saw him. I immediately froze and said, “Wow!” The owl looked straight at me for about 1 second, turned his head, then flew off (so beautiful and graceful!). I didn’t even have time to call my son into the room to see him.

What a unique experience that may never be repeated in my lifetime! Living in the woods affords some wonderful opportunities to see wildlife, but having them come within feet of your doorstep is still very rare and delightful!

I’m still waiting to see a bobcat in the wild…

Thanks for sharing your pic and experiences!

Can I respond gently to Susy, I don’t want to ruffle any feathers … Susy, build a nice fencing around your veggies. I love chipmunks and bunnies; sometimes ask myself why in the world God/Universe/Natural Selection made them so darn cute. And I love birds of prey, too; a close-up of one graces my wall and has helped me through some rough hours….And of course I know, though have not quite come to terms with, the laws of nature … But it seems to me that if you don’t put up that fencing, you’re inviting the rodents in, in effect farming them I say let nature be natural as much as possible, do as little harm as possible (“Live and let live”)

Anyhoot, have an airy day, all ~.~