One thing that helps is they are territorial, so you don’t necessarily need to pin down their location at once. You can hear owl sounds and work them down to finer and finer locations until you’ve found one of their favorite spots. They will have favorite spots to roost or to drop pellets.
They also have distinct silhouettes when they fly. Keeping a lookout for that flat face can help you pick them out, even at night as long as there is some light that you can make out the shape.
Smaller birds try to drive them off, and they do make a lot of noise. If you’ve ever seen bluejays or crows chase off a hawk, you’ve heard it. Follow that sound and you’ll see what they’re squawking about, and sometimes that’s an owl trying to catch a nap.
You can also just ask people! People love finding these birds to observe or photograph. Look for people taking photos and see what they’re shooting, or make friends with someone so they know you won’t disturb the owl and they may share some of their secret spots with you.
They try their best to stay hidden, but they have to move eventually and something will spot them! And the spotter is often easier to find than the owl.
How does one spot them in the wild if they are so sneaky? Infrared? Wait until they move? That is quite impressive.
One thing that helps is they are territorial, so you don’t necessarily need to pin down their location at once. You can hear owl sounds and work them down to finer and finer locations until you’ve found one of their favorite spots. They will have favorite spots to roost or to drop pellets.
They also have distinct silhouettes when they fly. Keeping a lookout for that flat face can help you pick them out, even at night as long as there is some light that you can make out the shape.
Smaller birds try to drive them off, and they do make a lot of noise. If you’ve ever seen bluejays or crows chase off a hawk, you’ve heard it. Follow that sound and you’ll see what they’re squawking about, and sometimes that’s an owl trying to catch a nap.
You can also just ask people! People love finding these birds to observe or photograph. Look for people taking photos and see what they’re shooting, or make friends with someone so they know you won’t disturb the owl and they may share some of their secret spots with you.
They try their best to stay hidden, but they have to move eventually and something will spot them! And the spotter is often easier to find than the owl.