Barred Owl on the Block

   For the past several weeks, usually just as it got dark, we hear the call of a Barred Owl (Strix Varia) in our neighborhood in east Memphis. It is a medium sized owl with a round face. We encounter it often in the wild. Now we notice its presence inside the city of Memphis, in a residential neighborhood, flying from yard to yard.

   Last week while walking our dog, Cosmo, around dinner time, we heard the owl. He was perching on a low branch in a pine tree across the street, a little way down from our house. Robert playfully hooted "Who… who… who cooks for you all" in a low tone. All at once, the owl swooped down in front of us. It did not attack us. It was looking for the other Barred Owl. He landed on a chain link fence. Cosmo did not seem to be excited by the owl, but we were delighted that Robert had “called” a wild owl.

   Off and on the past couple of nights, we heard the owl in a tree in our back yard. It was situated directly above the neighbor’s chickens, yes my neighbor has chickens, in a wire enclosure in his back yard. Because of the chicken wire, our neighborhood Barred Owl cannot get to the chickens and will have to eat something else.

Robert and Berry

Photos courtesy of wikipedia