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All About Owls

In our last episode, we discussed how rodenticides, also known as rat poisons, can have a negative impact on our birds of prey. Today, we’ll be talking about Florida’s five resident owl species and how to identify them by the calls they make. These owls are valuable predators in our local ecosystems, both rural and urban, and can be easily identified with just a little practice.

 

Episode Transcript:

SHANNON:
In our last episode, we talked all about rodenticides and rat poisons and how they can have a negative impact on our birds of prey. Today we'll be talking about Florida's five resident owl species and how you can learn to identify them by the sounds that they make.

LARA:
Welcome to “Naturally Florida,” a podcast about Florida's natural areas and the wild things that live here. I'm Lara Milligan.

SHANNON:
And I'm Shannon Carnevale.

LARA:
This podcast is brought to you by UF IFAS Extension in Polk and Pinellas Counties.

So in our last episode we had the very exciting topic of rodenticides, or what Shannon and I referred to as “rat poisons.” So we thought we'd maybe take this episode to maybe a little bit more upbeat topic (LAUGHTER) and talk about some of the species we referenced in that episode which are owls. So we're gonna just jump right in, Shannon, and talk about owl species in Florida. And I figured we'd start off with: How many owls do we even have in Florida? Owl species, I should say.

SHANNON:
Yeah. I have no idea how many owls there are. (LAUGHTER) But anyway, so we have five resident owl species in the state of Florida. And when I say the word “resident,” I just mean a species that's here year-round. It doesn't migrate to and from the state. It's just always here. You might not see them. They might be in a different territory or something, but they are a resident species living here in the state.

LARA:
Yeah. And I'd be willing to bet it'd be hard for a lot of our listeners to list off all five species. I know, for me, some of them were even relatively new species to me. So we're hoping that if you already know the five owls, maybe you'll at least learn something new about them. Or maybe you'll at least learn what those five species are.

And in order to do that, Shannon thought it'd be a good idea to break’em down by size. So we're going to start off—we’ll talk about what species we classify as large owl species. And then we'll talk about some of our smaller owl species. So what are our large owl species, Shannon?

SHANNON: 
We have three that I consider to be our large owls, and those are our barred—B A R R E D—and our barn—B A R N— ‘cause people tend to get that one confused. And then our third large owl species is the great horned owl, which I would wager most of our listeners are probably familiar with that one.

A good way to think of a large owl is this is going to be an owl that is at least the size of your standard collegiate football.

(LAUGHTER)

LARA:
Yes. And it's funny that you referenced that, because I remember when I was learning about owls in high school, my teacher, I remember him saying, like, “Just look up and see if you can find a football in a tree.” (LAUGHTER) So I think that's very accurate.

SHANNON:
And I did say “standard collegiate” because I don't know if any of our listeners have tried to look up the size of a football. Apparently there are a bunch of different sizes. So they're all kind of the same. But we're going with standard collegiate.

LARA:
Sounds good. Yes. And then… Okay, so that was three out of our five species that fall into this large owl category. And then what are other two smaller owl species?

SHANNON:
And our small owl species are my personal favorites. I'm going to go ahead and say I have favorites. (LAUGHTER) But they are the eastern screech owl and the burrowing owl.  And the eastern screech owl is about the size of your fist. If you hold a fist and think about the eastern screech owl, it’s just a little bit bigger than that. Especially if you've got large hands, that's going to be about your size of your screech owl. 

And your burrowing owl, which is a really unique one among the five that we'll talk a little bit more about later, he’s a little bit bigger—stands about nine inches tall at maturity.

LARA:
Yes. And, I don't know, I'm kind of with Shannon and I'm having some favorites. And mine also happened to fall into the small owl category. (LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
So it's because they're so sassy, right? Like, they just have so much personality.

LARA:
So much. The burrowing owls, an exception—not an exception, but like, take that to a whole new level, I feel like.

(LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
Yeah.

LARA:
So I think with owls many of us know that they tend to be more active at night with the exception of some, which we'll talk about. But we might more often hear owls than we are to see them. So Shannon and I wanted to take this episode and kind of make it like “a listen and learn”— while, of course, you're listening—to again another level of listening.

And we're going to be playing some of the owl calls as we go throughout this to help you hopefully recognize some of the species and associate which owl species is making that call.

SHANNON:
Yeah. And learning to listen to bird calls is really a fantastic way to use the podcasting technology. So I'm really excited about this. So, Lara, I was thinking we would go ahead and get started with our large storybook owl, the great horned owl. How do you feel about that?

LARA:
Let's do it.

SHANNON:
So the great horned owl is about 18 to 25 inches tall when mature—so about two feet. Has large ear tufts that stick up above its head and big yellow eyes. This is the owl that you're probably thinking about if you think about cartoon owls. And the call of the great horned owl sounds like what you would expect, right Lara? It’s like a low-pitched “hootie hoo” type sound.

LARA:
Oh yeah.  Yup.

SHANNON:
So let's go ahead and take a listen to the great horned owl.

(GREAT HORNED OWL CALL)

LARA:
Yeah, it's like exactly what's used in movies and, like you said, cartoons.

SHANNON:
It's what people expect.
LARA:
Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
So that particular call was from Avon Park in in central Florida.

LARA:
Yes. So this is the largest owl species that we have in Florida. So to find the great horned owl, they do prefer more wooded areas. But I will say they're also very fond of park settings, which I alluded to the great horned owls in our last episode. It was in a park setting, and also rural areas as well.

So in terms of their diet, super diverse diet—they’re all throughout North America. They eat everything from rodents, insects, they’ll even eat other birds. So just keep an eye out. Again, look for a football in a tree.

(LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
And if you've got sunlight behind it, you can easily see those ear tufts as well. It's our only large owl species with the ear tufts.

LARA:
Which, by the way, are not ears. Just so everybody knows.

(LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
Right? They're just decorative feathers that look like ears to us because they do. But anyway…So populations of great horned owls is a very common owl that you probably have in your area of Florida. The population size has been fairly steady. According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, populations haven't changed dramatically since 1966, which is, you know, overall a pretty good story for us that they're still as common as they were in 1966. 

So the next owl we're going to talk about is the barred owl. And again, this is B A R R E D barred owl. And they get that name from the vertical brown bars or stripes across their chest. And it's made up of their feather pattern. They're about 16 to 24 inches tall, so just slightly smaller than the great horned owl.

But they do not have the ear tufts. And they also have very dark eyes and a bright yellow beak. So it's hard to confuse these two once you learn a little bit about what they look like. But we're here to listen to the calls. So the barred owl has a couple very common calls. And the first one we're going to listen to is their “who cooks for you” call, which Lara is really great at trying to sing.

(LAUGHTER)

Just do it.

LARA:
You want me to like actually mimic the sound?

SHANNON:
No, just sing along “who cooks for you.”

LARA:
Okay. Yeah. And this is another one I learned in high school. My teacher was teaching us that you listen for “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?”

I know that was right on par with what you're about to hear.

SHANNON:
And that was like really a fine line between like, mimicking the call and singing the call. I loved it. (LAUGHTER) Okay, here we go.

(BARRED OWL CALL)

SHANNON:
So, yeah, just like Lara said, you can really hear it almost saying, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” And that's a great way to remember the barred owl call. But they have another call that I think I hear almost more frequently than the “who cooks for you” call, especially when I'm in North Florida in residential areas, Lara. And that one's kind of affectionately referred to as a monkey call. And it's when you've got two owls calling back and forth to each other, it sounds like they're hooting and hollering at each other. It's also been called caterwauling. Have you heard it called that?

LARA:
I haven't. But like totally can relate to the monkey reference. And it's incredibly loud when they get going. Like I remember a time in college that they were doing their monkey-calling business and I was so mad because it was like 3 a.m. and I thought our neighbors were having a party. Like, that's the extent of this call.

(LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
All right. So let's take a listen to that one real quick.

(BARRED OWL “MONKEY CALL”)

SHANNON:
So you can imagine hearing that sound now, how annoying, like Lara said, this noise can be if you're hearing it all night or in the middle of the night, or when you have an exam the next morning. It’s just, it’s just loud. I cannot emphasize that enough because it also seems to be on really quiet evenings, and so it echoes.

And once you get two going, sometimes you might get a third, or at least it sounds like there's a third—it’s hard to say.  But you will recognize this noise and you'll not even think a bird is making the noise, but it's a barred owl. So super fun.

LARA:
Yeah. If you are in an area where there's large trees and some type of water body nearby, that's kind of their preference. And they are pretty territorial, which plays into their lots of vocalization. But if you have, again, those large trees somewhere near water, then that's pretty good habitat and you're likely to have barred owls around.

SHANNON:
So like the great horned owl, the barred owls are fairly numerous and common. You're much more likely to hear them than see them. But according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, populations have actually been increasing at a rate of about 1% per year since the 1960s, which is wonderful news and a lot more upbeat than our rat poison episode.

(LAUGHTER)

LARA:
Yeah. No, that's definitely awesome, not something I feel like we hear very often with any population of wildlife. So that's great.

SHANNON:
Yeah, I agree. So we're going to move on now to the barn owl, which is B A R N. Barn. These large owls are a little bit smaller than the barred owl and the great horned owl. So the barn owl matures out at about 12 to 16 inches, and they look really different from our first two owls. 

So the barn owl is largely white. It has a very white face with a satellite dish, heart-shaped face that has a tan outline. The majority of their chest is going to be white or a light gray, and then they've got tan and gray feathers on their back. This owl is named for where it likes to roost in old barns and cavities and things of that nature.

So it makes a lot of sense when you hear this call. I hesitate to even call it a call, Lara.  (LAUGHTER) It's this shriek of the barn owl.

LARA:
It is honestly kind of horrifying, the sound.

SHANNON:
It’s awful. So without further ado, here is the barn owl call. 

(BARN OWL CALL)

Imagine hearing that in the middle of the night when you're just like, I don't know, taking your dogs out for a walk. It's terrifying.

LARA:
So even just hearing the call, like the hairs on my arm stick up. Like I was envisioning that same thing—just being quiet outside and then hearing that. But again, once you know who's making that call, then you might be able to be a little bit more excited and less scared.

SHANNON:
For sure.  And these owls…that eerie shriek that they make, it has led to many folktales, superstitions and urban legends—all revolve around this species. Some of our populations culturally view them as a bad omen. So when you see them or when you hear them just keep that in mind. But it's just a super cool bird who's doing cool things for us.

LARA:
Yeah. And they do prefer more open habitats. And Shannon mentioned, you know, their name kind of alludes to where they can be found. So if you don't have, kind of again, that open space and perhaps some structure for them to live in, then we might not like…I’ve personally never seen one in the wild, but they're beautiful, beautiful birds if you ever do get the chance to see one.

SHANNON:
They are. And if you live in those wide open spaces and you're hoping to help them out, you can always listen to our cavity nester episode for information on that. And we'll include in the show notes some information about nest boxes for them because according to Florida Fish and Wildlife, this is the least common owl species in the state of Florida.

They are kind of difficult to count because they're so secretive and nocturnal. So because of that, the North American Breeding Bird Survey could not detect a significant population change since the 1960s. We think that their numbers have increased slightly, but we're not really sure because they are so hard to find and so hard to count. And that brings us to the little owls.

LARA:
Yay!

SHANNON:
My favorites. Okay. This one is…I mean, personality-wise, I think the burrowing owl is everyone's favorite. But the eastern screech owl has a special place in my heart because we had an owl box growing up, and in the backyard you could always see the little screech owl mama out there watching her territory. 

So the eastern screech owl is very small. Like I said earlier, if you imagine your fist, if you ball it up in front of you—and add like an inch or two if you've got a small fist—that’s your eastern screech owl. They are typically 6 to 9 inches tall at full maturity. For their size they've got a really big head. They actually look very similar to the great horned owl in miniature size. They've got that same like brown mottled feather pattern. Sometimes they can be red or gray. 

They're all the same species, but they have the big ear tufts and the big eyes. So they are just adorable. In short, (LAUGHTER) they're just the cutest things.
Let's go ahead and listen to the eastern screech owl call, which can be described as a high-pitched horse whinny. Probably the best I've heard, Lara, what about you?

LARA:
Yeah, they have a bunch of different calls, too. But a lot of people, when they do play the call, they're like, “That was not an owl, that was a horse.”

SHANNON:
Yeah, okay. So here it is. 

(EASTERN SCREECH OWL CALL)

It kills me. I love it. (LAUGHTER) It’s so cute. And if you ever get to watch one of them making this noise because they are—as I think Lara’s going to tell you—very common, you just can't believe your eyes seeing this sound come out of this tiny little bird.

LARA:
Yes. Yeah. And as Shannon mentioned, these owls have adapted very well to development and urbanization. So they can readily adapt to be found in natural areas, park settings, and then, again, even residential areas. I saw one within my apartment complex, and I'm pretty sure I saw one even this morning walking around my complex. So that's exciting and good news. But unfortunately, Shannon, you want to share some info on their population statistics?

SHANNON:
Wah. Wah. They are not doing that great. So according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, eastern screech owl numbers have decreased annually by close to 1%, which doesn't sound that bad until you add it up from 1966. So we've had a cumulative decline of the eastern screech owl of about 38%.

LARA:
Yeah, it's crazy. And especially with how well they can adapt to development, you would think they'd be doing better. But we do have a whole episode dedicated to cavity nesters, so you can definitely check that out. 

But we want to wrap up with our last small owl species, which are literally… If you could see my face right now, I'm just, like, smiling because they're so stinkin’ cute. Okay, and that is the Florida burrowing owl.

SHANNON:
Yes!  It’s time for the little diva. (LAUGHTER) So the Florida burrowing owl…If you have not seen this highly charismatic owl, I strongly recommend you do some YouTubing. There are amazing critter cams of burrowing owls right here in Florida. They are absolutely amazing to watch and listen to, and they're just adorable. 

So the Florida burrowing owl looks very similar to the barred owl. It doesn't have ear tufts. It's got that brown mottling. It does have some white on its chest. But they are, you know, burrowing owls. They’re ground-nesting species. So they have very long legs and they're small. So they stand off the ground, 7 to 10 inches tall, just slightly larger than our eastern screech owl. And they are just a ball of personality.

SHANNON:
And I think when you hear this call—or I like to call it the “chuckle”—(LAUGHTER)…you will agree. You're going to listen to me like, “Well, I need to see this guy because I mean, he's adorable.” So let's go ahead and take a listen to their chattering, chuckling sound.

(EASTERN SCREECH OWL CALL)

LARA:
(LAUGHTER) I’m sorry. I just can’t…Like I just go back to the YouTube videos, like their call mixed with their head movements is…

SHANNON:
I know they're just adorable, which makes what I'm about to say even sadder. So according to the Great Breeding Bird survey, it's estimated that nationwide burrowing owl populations have been declining at more than 4% per year since 1966. And if you caught that, I said nationwide, because we have burrowing owls out west also. But what we're talking about here today are the Florida burrowing owls.

LARA:
As Shannon mentioned, they are ground-nesting. So they do prefer areas with wide open spaces and little vegetation because they need to see, you know, if a predator is coming and that's their preferred habitat. So often you'll find them in things like rangelands, cattle pastures, sometimes in a little bit more urban areas that have open fields, things like golf courses or, you know, recreational sports areas or vacant lots and things like that, but more so in these like cattle pasture areas.

And we'll wrap up now with our call to action that we always like to do at the end of our episodes. We started this episode referring to our previous episode on rodenticides and how those can impact our owl species. So hopefully now you've come to appreciate owls and will rethink your use of rodenticides. We encourage you guys to get excited, like Shannon and I.

If you want to report sightings or record calls and upload them into iNaturalist, we encourage you to do that. And just, again, we always encourage you to share what you've learned with a family member or friend.

SHANNON:
And with that, just a quick reminder that all of the owl calls you heard today are available in the show notes so that you can listen to them again and practice your owl id. 

It's also mid-August now, and Lara and I have a quick favor to ask. At the end of every year, Extension agents all over the country are trying to tabulate what kind of impact their outreach into the community is having. We're no different, and this podcast is just one of our outreach tools. So after next month's episode, we will be releasing a quick survey link. It'll be less than five questions—should take you only a couple of minutes. If you'd be so kind as to fill that survey out for us and help us count any kind of impact that we're having on the community, Lara and I would be eternally grateful. So thank you so much for listening, and we hope you all have a great rest of your day.

Thanks for listening to “Naturally Florida,” a podcast about Florida's natural areas and the wild things that live here. Stay updated on new episodes by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform. If you enjoyed today's episode, consider sharing it with a friend. “Naturally Florida” is produced by your hosts Shannon Carnevale.

LARA:
And Lara Milligan.

SHANNON:
If you have questions or suggestions, submit them online at naturallyfloridapodcast.com. This podcast is brought to you by the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, an equal opportunity institution. Thank you for listening.

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