Great Horned Owl
“To be in the presence of Bubo Virginianus is always a humbling experience for there is no other owl in North America that exceeds the Great-horned in courage, weight, or strength.”
Through the year
Columns that mention it, by the month they were published.
Year by year
Columns that mention it each year.
In his words
Ten of the 54 passages, oldest first.
I wonder if a Great Horned or Barred Owl had disrupted their slumberings.
Seconds later there it was again, the evenly spaced, low pitched, deep but seemingly distant booming sound of a male Great Horned Owl.
Besides its overall size, another way to identify a Barred is by its lack of feathered ear tufts or “horns”, familiar characteristics of the Great Horned owl and the much stealthier Long eared owl.
We had been making our way along the forest margins of our property when we heard the hoot of a Great Horned owl not that far off.
Additional notes concerning owls - on March 7 I was awakened by the hooting of Bubo virginianus, the Great Horned Owl.
Rounding out the weekend, we had a female Great-horned owl calling from a towering oak tree on our property.
Last but certainly not least, On May 15 a Great Horned Owl was spotted for the second time, perched high atop a great old oak tree on our property.
The following evening, I heard the eerie shriek of Great Horned Owlet begging for food somewhere back off of Shore Road.
Lastly, in the final few hours of the month I was surprised by the raspy scream of a young great horned owl still begging for food.
Last but not least, my mother-in-law reported Great Horned Owls duetting in the early morning hours off Two Lights Road.
Show all 54 passages
The following evening along Shore Road, relatively close to town center, I heard two Great-horned Owls (later saw one of the two) engaged in a quite a chatter.
On the last day of February while exploring the magnificent new CELT property Pollock Brook reserve, my wife, son and I came across a few large owl pellets from either a Great-horned Owl or a Barred Owl.
That said, after hearing two Great horned Owls around 9:30 p.m. conversing close-by, I decided to head out for an owl prowl to see what else may be about.
That evening I heard both Barred and Great-horned Owls calling.
On July 29 around dusk I heard a single shriek from a Great Horned Owlet begging for food somewhere back off of Shore Road.
Additionally, on more than one night I have heard a Great-horned Owl calling (rather softly) along Shore Road.
I saw and heard two Great-horned owls beginning their courtship rituals while a Barred Owl caterwauled somewhere nearby in the dark woods.
On the evening of October 9 I heard two Great-horned Owls calling to each other along Shore Road and on October 11 while biking in Gull Crest I practically ran over a Woodcock who did not seem the least bit concerned with my presence.
Saw-Whets are master ventriloquists and have a range of squawks, barks and meows that, in some instances may resemble the calls of a female Great-horned owl.
Other notes from the field include Great-horned Owls with begging young along Bowery Beach Road on May 17, first of year Least Flycatcher on May 19.
Additionally, on June 18 I found three Barred Owl fledglings hissing on a snag high above the vernal pool within the Canter Lane easement portion of Robinson Woods I. Shortly thereafter I heard one Great horned Owl fledgling begging from the depths of Cranbrook.
Also, during one of the last days of June, at dusk along Charles E. Jordan Road I heard the unmistakable hissing of two youngsters and one hooting adult Great Horned Owl.
Additionally, on the starry night of November 15 along the stretch of route 77 that runs parallel to the Purpoodock Golf Course, I heard a single call from a Great-horned Owl.
To be in the presence of Bubo Virginianus is always a humbling experience for there is no other owl in North America that exceeds the Great-horned in courage, weight, or strength.
Other bird related mentionables about town include, on February 2 my wife reported a male and female Great-horned Owl doing the courtship dance somewhere deep within the old pine stands of Cranbrook.
On April 15 around dusk while walking along fringes of the Spurwink River I flushed a Woodcock and then noticed a Great-horned Owl sitting ten feet up in a tree directly above where the Woodcock had been.
Other notes from my field journal include on June 29 before sunset along the margins of the field in Robinson Woods III, a Great-horned Owl was spotted being scolded by two Great-crested Flycatchers and on June 30 along the woodland paths in Gull Crest two fledgling American Woodcocks were testing their wings.
Great-horned Owls are reported on the island from time to time and during fall migration southbound Northern Saw-Whet Owls very likely use the island as a stopover.
Just before dark I caught a glimpse of a Common Nighthawk roaming the skies over the treetops above our house and seconds later, I heard what sounded at first like a muffled foghorn, but which I shortly determined to be a Great-horned Owl at significant distance.
My notes from the yard and field over the last two weeks include, on 9/16 after dusk along Charles Jordan Road I heard the soft hooting of a Great Horned Owl.
Additionally, on November 7 the waxing gibbous moon, clear skies and very little wind made for the right conditions to hear both a Great Horned Owl (behind town green and a local Barred Owl (fringes of Robinson woods) calling at the same time.
We had just spotted the silhouette of the old fire lookout station when the low-pitched hoot from a Great-horned owl caught my ear, somewhere in the distance.
Additional notes from the last two weeks include: on February 5 while walking along Jordan Farm Road I heard a Great-horned Owl calling briefly from somewhere within the evergreen forest along Hannaford Cove Road.
Later in the afternoon I was listening to two Woodcocks displaying in a wet field nearby to my house when a Great-horned Owl's hoot added to the chorus.
That same day around dusk, under a visible waxing gibbous moon, a Great-horned Owl flew over our yard.
At dusk on August 3 I flushed a Great Horned Owl from its hunting perch along the fringes of the overgrown field in Robinson Woods.
While wandering along the fringes of Robinson Woods III and a neighbor’s property a boisterous band of Blue Jays alerted me to a stand of old White Pine trees and where, fifty or so feet up was a hunkered down Great Horned Owl.
I am mindful that mimicking owl calls (either through voice or recording) can peak the interest of bigger owls like the Great-horned who are known to prey on Northern Saw-whets.
As I was making my way back down the ladder a Great-horned Owl hooted in the distance.
And on February 11 around 10 p.m. I heard a Great-horned Owl calling from somewhere behind Town Hall while a Barred Owl hooted simultaneously deep within Robinson Woods.
March through May is the “calling season” for Great-horned, Barred and Northern Saw-whet Owls.
And as dusk arrived my wife and I watched a Great-horned Owl hunting in a field off Shore Road.
Immediately recognizing that this was not a Barred or Great Horned Owl I slowed down and hoped to see or hear something that would confirm my suspicions.
A brief time after that I heard a Great-horned Owl calling from somewhere far away.
Additionally on the quiet afternoon of October 12 I came across a Great-horned Owl sunning itself undisturbed, high up in an old pine within Robinson Woods.
Carefully untangling the incredibly soft feather from a bit of skunk fur I noticed its distinct striping and knew just what it was, a feather from the fearless Great-horned Owl.
Lastly, on several nights over the last two weeks I have heard Great-horned Owls calling from various locations across Cape Elizabeth including Robinson Woods, the parcel of land behind Town Hall and while cross-country skiing with my son on the back nine of Purpoodock’s golf course.
Great-horned Owls are known for their range of vocalization and a mating pair will often communicate with squawks and chitters.
Additionally on the evening of April 27 and within less than a minute of each other, I heard both a Barred Owl and a Great-horned Owl calling from their haunts along Shore Road.
Later that same day along Charles E. Jordan Road at dusk, I heard the unmistakable hissing of two young Great Horned Owls accompanied by the hoot of an adult.
At dusk on August 8, I startled a Great Horned Owl from a known perch at the edge of an overgrown field in Robinson Woods.
Just past sunset on September 4, a Great Horned Owl stood sentinel atop the old barn chimney at Turkey Hill Farm, its silhouette stark against the fading light.
Additionally, on September 21, Great Horned Owls were heard calling—one behind the Town Green and another off Olde Colony Lane.
Great Horned Owls, though less common along open coastlines, remain dangerous nocturnal predators, prompting Snowy Owls to avoid wooded fringes.