December 30, 2013

Who cooks for you a-all?

Wikimedia free media repository
Dogs love the Arb at South. There’s so much to explore, and they enjoy the varied terrain. So I had my two, a pom and silky terrier, out on the paths before dusk. We walked through the Erickson Norwegian garden, which is ringed with mature jacquemontii birches and carpeted with heather. A tiny bridge takes you back out to the main east/west path.

At that point we were strafed by a Barred Owl (Strix varia), who perched in a Bosnian pine over the creek. It rested about 12 feet up, and turned its head to watch us carefully. Barred owls will defend their territory or young, but my pom Teddy is quite small, and I’m guessing the owl was getting a better look.

The Barred Owl is primarily a bird of eastern and northern U.S. forests and is a recent arrival to Washington, out-competing the Northern Spotted Owl. It’s similar in size to the great horned owl, but has dark eyes and no ear-tufts. Its barring pattern is crosswise on the neck and lengthwise on the belly. Its call if translated to English would sound like “who cooks for you, who cooks for you a-all.”

The Great Backyard Bird Count starts on Feb. 14 this year. I look forward to collecting sightings for the Arb at South.

No comments:

Post a Comment