Owl spotting is on the rise this year in Greater Victoria, judging by the online posts, word of mouth and backed by numbers recorded through the Rocky Point Bird Observatory (RPBO).

The Victoria-based registered charity focuses on influencing ecological management practices and conservation of migratory birds in western North America with monitoring, scientific research and public education.

sa国际传媒淭he barred owls are the ones people are talking about a lot now,sa国际传媒� said board member Ann Nightingale. sa国际传媒淲e get a lot of stories every year, it does seem to be a higher number this year than usual.sa国际传媒�

RPBO is currently seeking funding to do a tracking project on barred owls to answer some of the questions about numbers, territorial range and other behaviours. In the absence of that kind of official data, the appearance of abundance could be attributed to a combination of more owls in general in higher visibility areas and the social media effect.

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Rocky Point Bird Observatory does band and collect data on northern saw-whet owls sa国际传媒� and has since 2002. This year saw a jump in that population sa国际传媒� the second highest total ever with more than 1,400 in six weeks, Nightingale said.

sa国际传媒淲e have noticed a strong correlation between a strong northern saw-whet owl season and a higher number of barred owls, and this year was the same,sa国际传媒� she told Black Press Media.

Few are lucky enough to see the northern saw-whet because theysa国际传媒檙e small and rarely come out in the day.

Those barred owls, however, are large, easy to see even without binoculars and they will hang out anywhere sa国际传媒� from a forested park area outside of town to the Central Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library sa国际传媒� day or night.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e basically in every small park and neighbourhood in Victoria. We donsa国际传媒檛 have a real good estimate on how many there are,sa国际传媒� Nightingale said. sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檒l hunt day and night, theysa国际传媒檙e very vocal (and) everyone knows the sa国际传媒榳ho cooks for yousa国际传媒� call.sa国际传媒�

With that kind of visibility, once one is posted on social media, others will spot it or even seek it out.

Which is fine, as long as folks heed any warnings also issued.

sa国际传媒淭hey arensa国际传媒檛 random. These birds are in a particular area,sa国际传媒� Nightingale said. sa国际传媒淚f theresa国际传媒檚 an owl at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital that roosts in a tree and has been known to come down and hit people in the head, I would avoid it.sa国际传媒�

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This fall, public reports of an aggressive owl prompted Sidney to warn Reay Creek Park trail users to be wary and Nightingale has a few tips for that too.

sa国际传媒淭uck in ponytails and hide pompoms,sa国际传媒� she said.

Those cute tassels atop toques and the bobbing ponytail of a jogger look an awful lot like a squirrel tail, particularly younger learning owls.

Wear a hat in a known owl corridor and put something that looks like eyes on the back of the hat or hood. It mimics something that happens in nature, for example, both the northern Pygmy and northern saw-whet owls can have markings that look like eyes.

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sa国际传媒淭he reason this might help is because most predators like to come in undetected,sa国际传媒� Nightingale said. sa国际传媒淚f the owl thinks yousa国际传媒檙e looking at it because you have googly eyes on the back of your hat itsa国际传媒檚 going to be less likely to come at you.sa国际传媒�

While there are tales of large owls carrying off the occasional pets, a barred owl sa国际传媒� generally weighing in at fewer than two pounds sa国际传媒� can take a small rabbit or a squirrel, and the larger great-horned owl could take a big rabbit or a small cat, Nightingale said.

However, if an owl misjudges size or capabilities it could injure or kill a pet.

sa国际传媒淚 have heard people say their cat has been picked up by a great horned owl, and it is possible, but it wonsa国际传媒檛 have gotten very far with it. But it could absolutely hurt it and potentially even kill it,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e big birds carrying sharp knives.sa国际传媒�

Do you have a great owl photo or video to share? Send it to us by emailing christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca.

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