An Owl at Ward Bayou 8/12/26

August 12, 2026

Barred Owl

Anyone who’s spent time with me in the field or followed MY VIEW, knows how I feel about owls — there is simply nothing quite like coming across one.

Yesterday morning Patty and I headed out to Ward Bayou, a little later than usual and already hot. We’d seen plenty of birds and were on our way out — maybe an eighth of a mile from the exit — when Patty said, “Look, there’s a hawk.” Then, a beat later: “No, no — it’s an owl.”

Sure enough, a juvenile Barred owl was perched on a branch off to the side of the road, maybe 75 to 100 feet in and another couple hundred feet ahead of us. We eased up slowly and just watched each other for a while. It had its eyes on the ground, and then all at once it dropped straight down into the deep swamp grass and disappeared. We pulled up parallel and waited. After a bit it came back up and landed on a small tree — empty-taloned. Whether it caught something and ate it on the ground or missed entirely, I’ll never know. But that is always the magic of these creatures — every encounter is a delight.

Footnote: Patty and I were back out at Ward Bayou the next morning, at the end of the road before sunrise. What a delight! There were at least four owls calling from the heavy canopy of the huge Live Oaks. We could not see them, but we could certainly hear them.

Turn your volume up and click the little arrow below to hear part of what we heard.