#2920 "Barred Owl Friend"

 

#2920 "Barred Owl Friend"
16x20 Oils on canvas
Started Monday, February 3rd, 2025 in the Singleton Studio

This is another image taken by my friend, John Verburg, a naturalist and terrific photographer. John provides a tremendous source of inspiration during the winter when the windchill encourages me to stay within the Singleton Studio.

There are several barred owls within the Singleton Sanctuary. They always surprise me when they talk even during the daytime asking "Who, whoo, Who cooks for you?" We hear them far more often than we see them. 

Barred owls have been known to prey on birds up to the size of a grouse (Percy, my ruffed grouse friend was already aware of that threat) and will also catch fish and crayfish from streams. Although they have been known to hunt during the day, barred owls typically begin hunting for food just after sunset and through the night.

Barred owls live in mature forests with large trees and cavities for nesting. They are common in central and northern Ontario, but rare in southwestern Ontario. 

• The Great Horned Owl is the most serious predatory threat to the Barred Owl. Although the two species often live in the same areas, a Barred Owl will move to another part of its territory when a Great Horned Owl is nearby.
• Pleistocene fossils of Barred Owls, at least 11,000 years old, have been dug up in Florida, Tennessee, and Ontario.
• Barred Owls don’t migrate, and they don’t even move around very much. Of 158 birds that were banded and then found later, none had moved farther than 6 miles away.
• Despite their generally sedentary nature, Barred Owls have recently expanded their range into the Pacific Northwest. There, they are displacing and hybridizing with Spotted Owls—their slightly smaller, less aggressive cousins—which are already threatened from habitat loss.
• Young Barred Owls can climb trees by grasping the bark with their bill and talons, flapping their wings, and walking their way up the trunk.
• The oldest recorded Barred Owl was at least 26 years, 7 months old. It was banded in North Carolina in 1993, and caught due to injury in 2019.

#2920 "Barred Owl Friend" in progress within the Singleton Studio. My Dad built the easel. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2025. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick