Barred Owl at Eklund Gardens

Although I typically post wildlife that visits our property, a friend asked me to post these pictures of the Barred Owl which currently is nesting over at Eklund Gardens (which is a short walk from our property via the Open Space trail system annexed to our backyard).  These pictures were taken at approx. 7:30am  on May 2nd.

The Barred Owl's nest is often in a tree cavity, often ones created by pileated woodpeckers; it may also take over an old nesting site made previously by a red-shouldered hawk, cooper's hawk, crow or squirrel.  It is a permanent resident, but may wander after the nesting season. If a nest site has proved suitable in the past they will often reuse it as the birds are non-migratory. In the United States, eggs are laid from early-January in southern Florida to mid-April in northern Maine, and consist of 2 to 4 eggs per clutch. Eggs are brooded by the female with hatching taking place approximately 4 weeks later. Young owls fledge four to five weeks after hatching.  The Barred Owl has been known to live up to 10 years in the wild and 23 years in captivity