The barred owls of Maple Leaf

Photo courtesy Bob Iden

This is the famous “who cooks for you” owl, so named for its call. (Play the video below to hear it.)

We last wrote about this owl species almost exactly a year ago, but over the past several weeks three different people have sent us photos of barred owls. All were taken near Thornton Creek between Northeast 98th and 104th streets.

Barred owl video by Aaron Hill

“A very common owl that can often be seen hunting during the day,” Stan Tekiela says in “Birds of Washington.”

Chris C. Fisher, in “Birds of Seattle,” notes:

In our region, the Barred Owl can be found along steep-sloped ravines and bluffs with a mixed wood canopy. This species, which calls throughout the year, has bred for many years in the forests of Discovery Park and it can also be found at St. Edward State Park in nearby Kirkland.

And, clearly, in Maple Leaf!

Photos courtesy Dennis Paulson, who writes: “It’s wonderful how those things come out in the open in the daytime sometimes.”