Ghost From the Past

Barn Owl

As is often said when birding, expect the unexpected. Such was our luck Saturday at Killdeer Plains in west central Ohio.
Killdeer Plains Wildlife Management Area is one of those rare spots where you can bird a full winter’s day and always, well, almost always, come away with a great list of birds. Susan and I make an annual trek to this location a couple hours from home with our birding buddies, Karin and Pat. They missed last year’s outing because they were on hiatus in Africa, so this year we were looking forward to renewing our tradition.
The question of the day—the season, I should say—was, “Where’s the winter?” With birding, there are numerous reasons species do or don’t show up on schedules we humans like to attach to them. For example, this year there has been a limited number of Snow Buntings, a species we’ve seen in abundance when snow covered the landscape and temperatures were at polar bear levels. We saw none this year.
Owls, a big attraction at Killdeer, have infrequently been reported on the Ohio Ornithological Society list serve this season. In years past we’ve recorded no fewer than five species, four in one day! This year we saw only one species—the most sought after in the owl family—the Barn Owl!
An endangered species here in Ohio, the Barn Owl’s status has improved, marginally, the past few years. This improvement is due in no small part to efforts by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources installing nesting boxes throughout the state. While the Barn Owl has a worldwide distribution (eight species of the genus Tyto, worldwide), true to its name, it prefers barns as nest sites. With the obvious changes in agriculture, those preferred nest locations are hard to find.
The bird has also be called a “ghost” bird, a reference to its light coloring, use of abandoned (read haunted) buildings, monkey-like face and eerie, screechy call. Seeing one of these secretive birds away from its nest site, and unless you’re directed to that nest site, is a rare and special treat.
So it was, Saturday, as we walked through the traditional owl grove at Killdeer Plains, seeing virtually nothing. Then Susan casually looked up and studied a dark shape high in a pine tree. I still marvel at her calm demeanor when she said, “I think I have an owl, here.” Then she said, “Oh! It’s a Barn Owl!”
Swaying in the breeze, seemingly as curious about us, was a Barn Owl. We knew exactly what it was, yet kept asking and confirming with each other that it was, in fact, a Barn Owl.
Most of the Barn Owls in the state are migrants, spending winters in the South. We suspect, with the mild winter we’ve had, this bird probably returned earlier than its usual nesting period, late March into April. Whatever the reason, we enjoyed our brief visit with this ghost who did not frighten us in the least.

Killdeer Plains never disapoints