Hans,
There are two relatively easy things you can do to find owls.
The first is to look for large nests, especially right now while the leaves are
off the trees. Great Horned Owls donât build their own nests, but take over
hawk or crow nests. The young should be large enough now to see, or ready to
fledge if they havenât already.
The other thing I do is listen to the crows, because they hate owls. If the
crows are creating a fuss, but donât sound too angry, they likely have
spotted a Red-tailed or Cooperâs hawk. If they sound really angry, though, be
sure to pay attention, as they have likely located an owl, usually a Great
Horned. I have seen many, many Great Horns during the day using this technique.
One other tactic is to walk near sunset, which is when owls often come out.
Again, the leaves are off the trees, and the owls can often be seen well as
they are silhouetted.
There are some good books available, such as âHow to Spot an Owlâ by Clay
and Pat Sutton, with more tips.
Karen
--
Karen Etter Hale
Lake Mills, WI
chimneyswift1@xxxxxxxxxx
*****
Making time for birds
On Apr 21, 2020, at 9:48 AM, Hans Wagner <hanswagner380@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello all,
I hope everyone is doing well during this pandemic.
I am just curious as to how is the best way to find owls. I hear that
owling is a lot of hard work, but I would love to spot my first owl and
continue to develop my skills to be able to find more. What are some of the
best ways to go about finding owls? Where (as in habitats and trees) are
owls most likely to be found? Are there any techniques you can use without
majorly disturbing the owls, such as calling?
To my knowledge the Great Horned Owl is the most prevalent, so we could
focus on that particular species but I am also interested in finding any
type of owl.
Thanks!
Hans Wagner
La Crosse County
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