Who are the hooting owls? About the great horned owl:

Do owls actually hoot? What kind of an owl hoots?

The deep and far traveling whooo whooo call of the great horned owl can be heard from dusk to early morning before dawn. Great Horned owls are the owls most recognizable by this trademark call. Their appearance is also well recognized from being shown in TV and movies. Great horned owls are large birds with feather tufts that appear like ears standing up, protruding above their heads. They primarily are active at night, but on occasion may be seen after dawn or in the later afternoon before dusk during summertime. For much of the USA, the great horned owl is the top of the owl chain.

Where do great horned owls live?

Unlike other owls who choose to nest in hollows, great horned owls don’t require the same protection of their nest. Great horned owls live in trees all year round. During nesting season the great horned will take over existing nests from hawks, crows, or other round open nests. With their preference for trees, great horned owls are normally found in wooded areas or at a minimum, semi wooded areas. It’s unlikely to find great horned owls in open grass lands, farm land, or other non-forested areas. In these wooded regions, there is some owl species overlap.

Do other owl species overlap habitats with great horned?

There are several owl species that will overlap territory with great horned, especially where the where wooded land borders open field.

• Screech owls and saw-whet owls are smaller and nimble species that can evade the great horned and be found in the same regions.

• Barn owls will also be able to thrive near the border of great horned territory, but that is if the barn owls have a safe nest site and can evade the great horned successfully.

• Barred owls, which are also large like great horned owls, can be found in overlapping territory with great horned owls; however, they usually won’t nest or sleep nearby one another.

What do great horned owls eat? How do I, or do I want to, attract a great horned owl?

In IPM (integrated pest management) great horned owls can actually be counter productive. As a species they are not particular to any one prey, they’ll eat whatever is easy to obtain whether it’s rodents, birds, fish, etc. Unfortunately, because they are nondiscriminatory in their diet, great horned owls will actually attack and eat other owls. Additionally, the great horned owls’ wide ranging diet makes them not very productive for rodent control, and of course threatens for barn owls in known great horned territory.