Owls were swooping down to the ground, just feet away, for their evening feast. This is the scene on July evenings where a family of six Barred Owls put on a show in Ravenna Park just blocks away from our home.
At dusk, this owl family moves from the forested ravine to the open fields on the park’s southern rim to feast on beetles. The owls approach the fields cautiously, the two adult parents leading the way. They survey the edge of the field from snags or open branches in the forest before encouraging their owlets to join them. The owlets constantly make a hissing, food-begging call, and flap awkwardly at times landing on top of their parents or siblings. Then the owlets perch on a branch, snag, or pile of brambles waiting to be fed.
Gradually, the entire owl family gathers in isolated tree clumps and snags in the otherwise open grassy field. Here they encounter humans with binoculars and cameras waiting for the spectacle to unfold.
As night begins to fall, the owls swing into action, soaring low-to-the ground in search of June Beetles. Remarkably, they catch some in mid-air. More often, they capture them on the ground. The adults eat a few for themselves and then deliver them to their owlets. One avid owl-watcher reported this happening 28 times in one evening. Another person who was witnessing this spectacle for the first time repeatedly said “This is AMAZING!”
While taking in this frenzied hunt, we noticed with alarm that one owl was flying directly toward my wife’s head. Lori has experienced this type of attack from raptors before, including a Northern Goshawk in Yellowstone Park, due to her thick white hair. As Lori flinched, the Barred Owl snapped a June Bug from the air two feet above her head. Then another owl came close behind me and captured a June Bug fluttering by my legs. How exciting!
Just a night later, we saw the owlets gliding into the field and trying to feed themselves. Although they were not nearly as efficient as the adults, one did manage to find a beetle on the ground. We had previously witnessed them clumsily taking their first branch-to-branch flights. Now at three months old, the owlets were learning to hunt.
The evening of July 4 was like owling in a war zone! Fireworks, bombs, car racing, police and fire trucks with sirens blaring did not stop the owl family from hunting for beetles. Although they visibly flinched whenever an especially loud firework was detonated, all six of them hunted and captured June Bugs for an hour despite all the chaos. As we walked back home at nightfall, several coyotes howled in reaction to the bombs and sirens.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Barred Owls were originally a bird of the eastern U.S. that dramatically expanded their range in the 20th century, moving into the Pacific Northwest and California. Ravenna Park, with its dense, moist forest and standing snags (dead trees) provides good habitat for these owls. Barred Owl families have inhabited this park for decades.
As we have seen, Barred Owls hunt after sunset. Their prey includes small animals like squirrels, chipmunks, rats, mice, voles, rabbits, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. June Bugs fit into the latter category. Green June Bugs, aka watermelon beetles due to their distinctive green and white lines, are well-established in Seattle’s lawns, gardens, and compost heaps. Annoying to lawn owners, these beetles provide a welcome food source to owls.
Barred Owls are numerous with a steadily increasing population. Unfortunately, they compete with and displace Northern Spotted Owls in the few remaining ancient forests we still have. This has led to controversial management efforts to cull them in Northern Spotted Owl territories in Olympic National Forest.
Meanwhile, here in the city, Barred Owls have adapted to Seattle’s urban forest in parks including Ravenna, Discovery, Carkeek, Green Lake, Magnuson, Camp Long, Schmitz Creek, Seward and in Union Bay Natural Area. Given the abundance of rabbits, rats, mice and squirrels, Barred Owls provide a useful function as one of our city’s top predators.
Plus, they add magic and wildness to summer evenings. Even Alaska friends said they were envious of our close and frequent owl sightings. Just the other night, while watching the amazing owl/June Bug encounters, a coyote trotted by, a rabbit hopped out of a bush, and a Cooper’s Hawk perched in the sunset glow near its nest. We are thankful that these vestiges of nature still exist in our city.
