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Barn Owl

Tyto alba

Habitat:

This Barn Owl has been seen for the last 3 weeks hunting around the open fields at the Sachuest National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown, RI. This is the northern limit of their range and a very uncommon sight around here.

Notes:

The Barn Owl has excellent low-light vision, and can easily find prey at night by sight. But its ability to locate prey by sound alone is the best of any animal that has ever been tested. It can catch mice in complete darkness in the lab, or hidden by vegetation or snow out in the real world. (Cornell)

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16 Comments

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thank you Leanne. These are interesting birds and the Cornell site I linked has more great fun facts about the owls.

LeanneGardner
LeanneGardner 10 years ago

Beautiful as always Tom. What a lovely owl & great info. I learnt something today :)

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thanks Fyn and Sarah. It was fantastic watching this owl hunting in the middle of the afternoon in good light.

sarah in the woods
sarah in the woods 10 years ago

Gorgeous photos!

Fyn Kynd
Fyn Kynd 10 years ago

Great bird, Tom!

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thanks blaise.

blaise
blaise 10 years ago

nice series

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thanks for the nice comments Patty and Adarsha. Emily I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Great Gray:-)

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Absolutely adorable pictures Tom!

patty
patty 10 years ago

Great picture and series!

EmilyMarino
EmilyMarino 10 years ago

Well, knowing your luck lately Tom, I'd bet money it will! ;)

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thanks Emily. I'm still hoping for a Great Gray to show up:-)

EmilyMarino
EmilyMarino 10 years ago

Dang it Tom! You and your owls! Another wonderful series!

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Thanks Bill and Ashley. I was excited to see and photograph this owl today. I've only seen 1 other Barn Owl and that was over 20 years ago and this is the first time I photographed one. They are rare up here due to our harsh winters. There's some on the islands off Cape Cod, on Martha's Vinyard and Nantucket, but even there most died off a few years ago during a particularly harsh winter.

AshleyT
AshleyT 10 years ago

You and your owls, Tom! Great series as usual, these guys are so hard to find for me!

beaker98
beaker98 10 years ago

Great pics Tom! I haven't seen one of these in a few years, and they are now endangered in Illinois. Such a beautiful bird!

Tom15
Spotted by
Tom15

Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Spotted on Jan 26, 2014
Submitted on Jan 27, 2014

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