Date: 10/23/26 11:12 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Great Horned Owl in Burien..
Hooting is common here in the Seahurst neighborhood of Burien, WA. Mostly Barred Owls (BAOW), calling ‘Who-Cooks-For-You” and related grunts and cackles at all hours of the night and frequently in the afternoon and evening. This evening, however, a hoot came from one of our tall Douglas Firs that was distinctly different. The tone was similar to BAOW, but the cadence and followup slower, more evenly spaced and deliberate. I suspected Great Horned Owl (GHOW) so I let Merlin listen. Sure enough GHOW popped up immediately. I listened for a few more rounds and even recorded one. Merlin again matched it to GHOW.
It’s been many years since we’ve had GHOW in our yard (or anywhere near). Some years we will get a Western Screech Owl (WSOW) or two, but othwerwise our hooters are BAOW. I read that GHOW are early breeders, finding reestablishing mates and getting settled as early as November. I’ll be listening for more this fall and winter.
