10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

It was our second trip out on this piece of highway this year and sadly the second deceased Barn Owl. Unfortunately we have only ever seen dead Barn Owls in the Broome area and one day it would be nice to see a bird hunting over the land. Grass Owls are also present in the area, but remain off our bird list.

Barn Owls 162

Barn Owls Seals Birds Cattle 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2012

Typically these birds hunt at night and are very shy. So my first sighting of Pel’s Fishing Owl was highly appreciated. When visiting the Makgadikgadi Pans region we spotted several Marsh Owls quartering the pan fringes at dusk and, at Mowana Lodge in the Chobe, we had protracted views of their resident Barn Owl.

Owls 248

Owls Fish Botswana Barn Owls 248

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2023

It was a Barn Owl, or what country people around here still call the White Owl, hunting the water meadows at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Daylight hunting is a characteristic of British Barn Owls, but curiously it is very rare on the Continent, where the birds are just as numerous but far less frequently seen.

Barn Owls 214

Barn Owls Japan Rats Owls 214

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2013

It’s a small education Northern White-faced Owl that completely changes shape as zoo keepers bring by other types of owls that would be a predator for that species. For the only slightly larger Barn Owl the bird puffs itself up to look fierce and like a foe to be avoided.

Owls 264

Owls Barn Owls Agenda Zoos 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

.” Writing about owls means writing about roughly 250 species (I counted 245 on the 2022 Clements spreadsheet, but I might have missed a few, and we all know that each classification system is different). Owls are in danger from the usual threats–habitat destruction, climate change, human intrusion. They are also hunted.

Owls 213

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 213

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

At night, we keep our eyes out for the passage of the neighborhood Barn Owl , oftentimes a Tropical Screech-Owl would hunt insects from a low perch on our almond tree. Sometimes this Merlin ‘s mate comes to check him out, but for most of the northern winter he hunts solo.

Opossums 264

Opossums Barn Owls Hunting Reptiles 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

I always undertake a number of short timed surveys for the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Big Farmland Bird Count in February, and though the counts didn’t add anything to the year list, they were memorable for finding big flocks of finches and buntings, while a daylight-hunting Barn Owl was a pleasing sight.

Estonia 227

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 227

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

American Kestrels, Cooper Hawks , and Northern Harriers also found the hunting here to their liking. I spooked three Barn Owls out of a dense scrub row, just as the sun was setting. It got to within about 15 yards, calmly hunting for breakfast as it came. This one flew right over my head.

Albuquerque 122

Albuquerque New Mexico Mexico Sparrows 122

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2012

Graceful Honeyeater ( Meliphaga gracilis ) Metallic Starling colony ( Aplonis metallica ) I got my Platypus just before dark; it was much smaller than I expected but utterly enthralling as it hunted along the river bank.

Possums 171

Possums Guinea Marsupials Rats 171

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

The grebe, the warbler, and the snipe didn’t help me on my record-hunt but a birder’s gonna bird. So it was over to the West Pond – by way of Big John’s Pond where I finally got my first look at a Barn Owl for the year – where I scanned through lots of Snow Geese and didn’t find anything but Snow Geese.

Geese 100

Geese Jamaica Ducks Barn Owls 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2015

What kind of miscreant kicks a Barn Owl in mid-flight? Someone better tell that flamingo not to stay put and avoid Malta, where voters narrowly rejected a ban on hunting migratory birds. Research that’s sure to peeve anyone who’s struggled to list both a Common Redpoll and a Hoary Redpoll.

Malta 184

Malta Barn Owls Cyprus Fowl 184