ECOLA CREEK AWARENESS PROJECT

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Ecola Creek Critter

The Barred Owl's habitat is characterized as heavy mature woods with nearby open country for foraging. These vary from upland woods to lowland swamps usually near creeks, lakes or river valleys. These Owls are monogamous and probably pair for life. Nest sites are most commonly in hollows of old trees but they may also use abandoned hawk or crow's nests. The Barred Owl is similar in appearance only to the Spotted Owl and is unlikely to be confused with any other owl. There are some distinct differences that make these two owls distinguishable though. The most visual distinction is that the Barred Owl has brown vertical streaks on its underside where the Spotted Owl has short brown horizontal bars (and spots on its crown). The Barred Owl has an extremely varied diet composed mostly of small mammals, especially small rodents, along with a good percentage of birds up to the size of a pheasant. Their diet is virtually identical to their close but smaller relative the Spotted Owl (Barred Owl is 17-24 inches in length and the Spotted Owl is 16.5-19 inches) giving it an advantage where the territories have begun to significantly overlap in recent history. Once common only in the east, the Barred Owl's range is expanding west, now all the way to the north-west coast of North America, and scientist believe it may be displacing its slightly smaller cousin, the Spotted Owl.

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