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Welcome to the HBBO Owl Monitoring Notebook.
Great Horned, Barn, Barred, Burrowing, and Eastern Screech-Owl all use
artificial structures for roosting and nesting in Central Texas. Please submit
your observations of roosting and nesting owls in the form below--including date and location of observation, location and description of nesting or roosting structure, any
nesting activity observed, etc.
Note: Roosting and nesting owls are susceptible to disturbance by human
activities. Please do not give exact directions to nesting or roosting owl
sites, but do give street name if possible and general descriptions of
locations (eg. backyard screech-owl box located 15 feet up in a live oak tree
on Pecos Street in Tarrytown neighborhood of west Austin).
Posted Observations:
Name: Jennie Rutlede
Owl species: Great Horned Owl
Location: Georgetown, Texas - Georgetown Village off of Shell Road
Date posted: Fri Apr 4 00:40:37 2008
Every morning for two weeks in March there was a Great Horned Owl that visited me every morning between 6 AM and 7 AM. It was amazing to see. I would get out there before it would arrive. I have 2 big Live Oak Trees that hang over my back yard and it would land there making noise every morning. Amazing! I have had little screech owls in the past back there, but nothing like the Great Horned Owl. Really Neat!
Name: Katherine Murray
Owl species: Screech Owl
Location: Southwest Austin, Alexandria Dr and Mauai Dr.
Date posted: Mon Sep 10 14:15:11 2007
Our owl box yielded three babies this year. Saw all three fledge in May, 2007. I've seen the owl boxes at Wild Birds Unlimited, but I hear there are others that sell them. If you buy one I would suggest caulking the roof between the boards to keep moisture out. Throw some cedar chips inside to help keep pests down.
Name: Wyatt
Owl species: Screech Owl??
Location: Backyard Live Oak Tree, Humphrey Drive, North West Austin
Date posted: Tue May 29 22:41:04 2007
We have seen a mother and 5 of her babies in our back yard on two different evenings over the past week. We have several good close up photos and would love to share if anyone is interested. We are not sure of the species and would love someone to identify from our photos. Also, where do we get an owl shack?
Name: Christine Anderson
Owl species: Eastern screech
Location: backyard owl shack - about 20 feet up in live oak tree in backyard of Edgerock Drive in Northwest Hills
Date posted: Fri Feb 16 16:47:35 2007
Our first sighting of the little guy was February 9th around 6:45 p.m. We saw him pop up from inside the owl shack and sit in the opening for about 25 minutes. He then took off to begin his evening rounds of foraging, etc. We are purchasing a second box so that he (or she) can have a mate. Baby owls would be fun to watch!
Name: Ti Mougne
Owl species: not sure, only saw big wing span & big body in flight & then again, but only its large silhoutte perched in a tree
Location: Broadmoor Dr. in Windsor Park neighborhood, near 51st St in Austin, TX
Date posted: Fri Sep 8 23:33:20 2006
2 sightings of large owl right in my own urban backyard! First sighting was at dusk a month or so ago. I saw the owl gliding over our backyard. Second sighting (I'm assuming it was the same owl) was around 6 am this morning (it was still dark outside). I first heard the owl out my bedroom window. I got up and went outback to try to find it. I saw the owl perched high in my neighbor's tree on a bare limb. It had a low whoo-whoo call. It was a very peaceful sound. I watched it for about 5 minutes and saw it watching over everything. It kept whooing and turning its head in both directions. It was truly amazing. I think it must live close by. We have a creek across the street and an open field on the other side of the creek. I'm sure it has plenty of rodents to feast on.
Name: Enora Fant
Owl species: Eastern Screech Owl
Location: Gold Road Wimberley, T.X.
Date posted: 04/10 2006 08:10 PM
Name: Tammy Schuster
Location: South Austin off I.H35
Owl species: White ?
Date posted: 12/22 2005 09:19 AM
I don't know if these owls are still there, it was about 8 months ago since I saw them, but I know they have been there for many many years, we use to play in the barn years ago and the owls were there then. They are in trouble. It is about to be torn down for a stupid strip mall.They are marking it off as I write, is there anything we can do? If they are still in there they are in trouble. These owls are awsome they were pure white.
Name: Trish Anderson
Owl species: great horned owl
Location: northest Plano, in our backyard in a densely populated area!
Date posted: 12/05 2005 01:51 PM
Last night I heard an owl from about 11:30 p.m. to midnight. For the first ten minutes he sounded like he was on the neighbor's fence about fifty feet away, then he landed on our chimney and stayed there for about ten minutes, calling regularly. His hooting was amplified down our chimney and it sounded like he was almost in the room with me. I very quietly went outside and crossed the street and I could see his silhouette. I went back in and about five minutes later he swooped into our backyard. I think he may have used our birdbath, but it is in a protected area and I couldn't see him. I didn't know what kind of owl it was, but I went to ebirdbrain.com and found the song, identifying it as a great horned owl. How wonderful to hear such a magnificent owl, and how surprising that he chose our densely populated area. Last September I also spotted a screech owl while I was on an evening walk. It was just past dusk, and he was up in a live oak tree singing his little head off. He had a wavery, spooky call, and did not seem bothered a bit by me and my husband watching him.
Name: Michael Sullivan
Location: Dallas
Owl species: eastern screech owl
Date posted: 11/30 2005 11:56 PM
I spotted this pair of owls around September after hearing mobbing from other birds. One grey and one red I guess they're a couple and they roost in my pecan trees. I have built an owl box and actually saw them in it Nov. 26 only to find squirrels in it the very next day. I need help keeping the squirrels away. Any suggestions?
Name: Joe Paschal
Location: 2558 CR 308, Orange Grove, Texas
Owl species: Great Horned Owl, Barn Owl
Date posted: 11/02 2005 11:42 AM
The property is our family ranch, Tecolote Creek Ranch, wwww.tcrgenetics.com... Tecolote is Sapnish for Owl. Joe
Name: Katherine Murray
Owl species: Eastern Screech Owl-Red Morph
Location: Maple Run subdivision, SW Austin
Date posted: 12/10 2004 08:58 AM
On evening walk saw a perching red screech owl. It was about 5:20 and the tree was pretty small and near street. Was very close to him, maybe 8 feet away. Observed owl again at 5:30 on second loop around the block in same location. I'll check again tonight. I have an owl box in my backyard and last spring had gray screech owls nest there, with two fledglings seen.
Name: Jennifer Maxwell
Owl species: Eastern Screech Owl- Red
Location: Heard Wildlife Sanctuary- McKinney, TX
Date posted: 04/25 2004 04:30 AM
We have two red morph EASO nesting in duck boxes at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney, TX,just north of Dallas.
Name: Rob Fergus
Owl species: Barn Owl
Location:
Date posted: 03/19 2004 04:27 AM
You can see inside a barn owl nest at:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/nestboxcam/index.html
Name: Andy & Julia Balinsky
Owl species: Eastern Screech Owl
Location: backyard screech-owl box in University Hills neighborhood, NE Austin
Date posted: 03/16 2004 07:46 AM
Red-morph Eastern Screech Owl first noticed morning of March 5, 2004. We've watched a nightly flight at dusk and twice have seen the owl return to the box at dawn. A second owl(gray)also seen leaving nest box at dusk March 14.
Name: Rob Fergus
Owl species: Eastern Screech Owl
Location: Oak Hill, Austin, TX
Date posted: 02/10 2004 09:56 AM
The full link to John Ingram's page may not be coming through--you can navigate to the pages yourself by looking for the "Red" the Screech Owl pages in the gallery section of www.windowsonnature.com.
Name: Rob Fergus
Owl species: Eastern Screech Owl
Location: Oak HIll, Austin, TX
Date posted: 02/10 2004 09:53 AM
Photos of the red-morph screech owl roosting in a box near Austin are on John Ingram's website at:
Notice the square box opening and weathered, unfinished exterior. This bird was found earlier this winter using a roosting box near Austin. Red-morph screech owls are rare in Central Texas.
Name: Jennifer Maxwell
Owl species: Barn owl
Location: internet nest box cam
Date posted: 02/07 2004 04:06 AM
Cornell university has live camera up on a pair of barn owls in a box. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/nestboxcam/index.html
It's really cool!
Name: Jennifer Maxwell
Owl species: Eastern Screech Owl
Location: McKinney, TX
Date posted: 01/27 2004 04:12 AM
I have had Screech Owls roost in my duck boxes several times. I monitor boxes at the Heard Natural Scienc Museum & Sanctuary. At least one box, possibly two,are being used as roosts right now. The same two boxes that have been used in the last two years. Two years ago I had what appeared to be Screech owl eggs also. Later a Wood Duck took over the box though. Is there any way to discourage the Wood ducks once an owl has taken a box?
Name: kevin anderson
Owl species: barred
Location: hornsby bend
Date posted: 01/24 2004 09:54 AM
once again we spotted the barred owl perched on the wires along Platt Lane this morning
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Email: Kevin.Anderson@ci.austin.tx.us
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