Like most wildlife in their natural habitats, owls are not often seen. Nocturnal and solitary, they usually shy away from humans.
With strong eyesight (100 times more effective in dim light than humans), owls are adapted to hunting at night or in low levels of light. Their eyes are immovably fixed in the front of the head, so they must move their heads in a 270 degree arc to see from side to side. (It is not true that owls can turn their heads completely around!) Owls can hear sounds 10 times fainter than humans can. Their soft, silent feathers enable them to swoop down undetected onto prey. They have a reversed outer toe, which helps to grasp prey with their powerful talons.
Owls are generalist, opportunistic predators, and eat almost anything that flies, runs, crawls, or swims, especially animals that are vulnerable to nighttime predation.
Rudy Viereckl, Audubon Photography AwardsAwards
Aside from hearing an owl (or seeing one, if you’re lucky) you might discover owls are using your property to roost or hunt if you find an owl pellet underneath your trees. Because owls eat their prey whole, including feathers, fur, and bones, they regurgitate pellets that contain these indigestible parts. Finding the carcass of a small mammal or bird with its head ripped off is another tipoff that owls are using your property for hunting.
In northern Virginia, we are likely to see three species of owls: Barred Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, and Great Horned Owl. Residents of Fauquier, Loudoun, and Rappahannock county might also see Barn Owls, which prefer open farmland habitat. All four species breed in our area.
The larger owls prey on the smaller ones—Great Horned Owls take Barred Owls, and Barred Owls take Eastern Screech Owls. Wisely, the smaller owls choose not to nest or try to occupy territory too close to bigger owls. Where Barred Owl populations are dense, for example at Huntley Meadows, Screech-Owls have a rough go of it. In areas of more contiguous woodland, such as Mason Neck or Prince William Forest, populations can spread out and Screech-Owls can find a niche to occupy..
Owls nest in tree cavities, and in stick nests abandoned by hawks, crows, or squirrels. They will also use cavities in human-made structures, including nest boxes. They prospect potential nest sites as long as a year in advance.
These species are not migratory, but are year-round residents, unless scarce prey forces them to move to another area with better hunting.
Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio)
Eastern Screech Owls are smaller woodland owls that nest in tree cavities in woods. They have small, stocky bodies, yellow-green irises, and pronounced ear tufts. They may be gray or rufous (brownish red) in our area. Their call is a high pitched whinny, and they make a lot of other sounds too, including screeches. They don’t require as large an area as Barred Owls do, just a suitable tree cavity, and a tree density of at least 20 per acre. They tolerate humans. They roost in tree cavities, nest boxes, or evergreens—especially Red Cedars.
Photo: Randy Streufert
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
The most common owl in our area, the Barred Owl may be identified by its round head lacking ear tufts, brown eyes, and horizontal barring on its throat. The Barred Owl’s haunting, distinctive call, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” may be heard at dawn or dusk—or even late in the night. You may hear wild cackling or caterwauling, especially during courting season. Owls are most vocal when males and females are pairing up before nesting begins in very early spring, and again in fall when young are dispersing to new territories
Strongly territorial homebodies, who return to the same area year after year, even generation after generation, and reuse the same nest. Their territories are large — 200-700 acres — in deep forests, including swamps and riparian areas as well as upland forests.
They are often found nesting near Red-Shouldered Hawks—they prefer the same type of habitat—but they do not conflict: the owl hunts mostly at night, and the hawk hunts in daytime.
Photo: Cindy Joyce/Audubon Photography Awards
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
This large, powerful, and long-lived owl is adapted to habitats across nearly the entire North American continent, and much of South America, including suburbs, deserts, forests, and grasslands. It may be recognized by its ear tufts, a white bib, and enormous yellow eyes. (Those ear tufts are called plumicorns, and scientists do not really know what they're for.) Great Horned Owls advertise their territories with deep, soft hoots with a stuttering rhythm: hoo-h’HOO-hoo-hoo.
Great Horned Owls prefer open and secondary growth woodlands that include some open habitat, such as fields or wetlands. They hunt from perches overlooking open areas. Unlike the other two owl species, Great Horned Owls prefer fragmented landscapes, including more edges between woods and open areas. This type of
habitat is also preferred by Red Tailed Hawks, which are often found nesting in the same areas, with no conflict. (Well, not too much conflict. Great Horned Owls may prey upon hawk nestlings.)
Great Horned Owls sight most prey from a perch, but also hunt mammals and birds by flying over woodland edges, meadows, open and semi-open grassland. They may also walk on the ground and stalk insects and other prey under bushes.
Photo: Don Henderson/Audubon Photography Awards
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
This medium sized owl has a heart-shaped facial ruff and lacks ear-tufts. It prefers open habitats and flies over them to locate prey by sight or hearing (Barn Owls’ ability to locate prey by sound is better than any animals tested). It may also hunt from perches, as the woodland owls do. It mostly feeds on rodents, voles being its primary prey.
Barn Owls nest in a wide variety of cavities, natural and human-made: trees, cliffs, caves, riverbanks, church steeples, barn lofts, haystacks, and nest boxes. Its breeding numbers seem limited by the availability of nest cavities proximate to adequate densities of small mammals.
Photo: Michael Phillips/Audubon Photography Awards
| What Owls Need | How Can We Help |
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| Food and Water: Owls are semi-nocturnal or nocturnal hunters. They eat birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, earthworms, and even fish. |
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| Shelter: Woodland owls prefer old forests with closed canopy to help regulate their temperature, and protect them from mobbing by crows, woodpeckers, and other birds. |
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| Nesting: Owls nest in tree cavities, and in stick nests abandoned by hawks, crows, or squirrels. Barn Owls nest in cavities in a great variety of human-made structures |
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| Other Threats: Threats include predators, such as Raccoons and Possums, which take eggs and nestlings, and larger owls.
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Additional Resources: Owl Research Institute.org - Attracting Owls to Your Backyard
Wildlife Rescue Assistance: If you find an injured owl you can get help through the Wildlife Rescue League
Examples of Model Owl Habitat: Dyke Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Huntley Meadows Park, Great Falls Park, Fred Crabtree Park, Reston