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Owl Identification Help Please (1 Viewer)

David Krick

New member
I was vacationing on Edisto Island, South Carolina last week (last week of May 2004). On my first evening there, I saw a large bird fly down to the ground. He was there for just a minute and then flew up into a tree and sat on a short, protruding branch. After awhile, he disappeared from that perch. Shortly thereafter, there were two similarly sized owls in an adjacent tree. However, I don't know that the pair of owls I saw in the tree were the same as the one I viewed on the ground and later in the tree. I would estimate the size of the owl I saw on the ground at around 20-24" based on the height of the clump of grass he was next to. I obtained poor digital pictures of the owls. My lens length was not up to the distance they were viewed at and these pictures are extracted from the main image. The first owl that I viewed on the perch had distinctly gold eyes and he appeared to be modeled gray and white over the back, with a very light colored breast. I saw no ears on this owl.

A few nights later, I found THREE large owls in the neighborhood. One or two of them re-appeared over the next two nights. The ones I was able to get a good look at did not look like the coloring of the first owl. These subsequent owls looked very much like textbook pictures of the great horned owl.

Is it possible that the first owl I observed was an immature form of the great horned owl? I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,
David
 

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David Krick said:
...would estimate the size of the owl I saw on the ground at around 20-24"... The first owl that I viewed on the perch had distinctly gold eyes and he appeared to be modeled gray and white over the back, with a very light colored breast. I saw no ears on this owl.

Is it possible that the first owl I observed was an immature form of the great horned owl? I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Well, from the above it sure does sound like a young GHO. But, from your short description it was more likely a fledgeling/juvenile than an immature...
 
Dave B Smith said:
David,
A fledgling GHO would not have the horns yet. Check out this link of Great Horned Owl

How does this compare with what you saw?

Honestly, the bird pictured on the left of what I posted did NOT resemble the fledglings in that link. I did see one of the birds later in the week who showed the "fledgling defensive display" pictured in your link. It was most impressive.

Thanks for commenting.

David
 
David,
I don't see much else it could be. Fledgelings change pretty quickly as they mature and depending on age, will not look exactly the same. Looking at your photo, that would still be my guess. GHO also have the yellow eyes.

The other large, "earless" Owls in the area would be the Barn Owl or the Barred Owl. Your bird doesn't show the face pattern of a Barn Owl and I believe even a juvenile has a fairly distinct white heart-shaped face. And both the Barn Owl and the Barred Owl have Brown eyes, while your bird has yellow eyes.

Anyway, good luck in ID'ing it.
 
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