Palm Harbor Can Be a Dangerous Habitat for Barred Owls

East Lake is such a beautiful area.  Residents enjoy being nestled between the eastern side of Lake Tarpon and the western edge of the Brooker Creek Preserve.  Many birds and animals also find the area particularly appealing because the area has suitable nesting and foraging habitat.  What transects the landscape however, is the very busy thoroughfare, East Lake Road.  Unfortunately, many birds and animals die on this road.  I have been monitoring the avian road kill on East Lake Road for several years, and have noticed some patterns, particularly when it comes to Barred Owls.

Barred Owls are a large sized owl. They are brown and white and have streaks on their chests. They have big brown puppy dog looking eyes and are recognized by their call which sounds like "Who cooks for you?".  

Overall, they have a mystical quality and are very appealing birds. We find pairs at John Chesnut Park, Brooker Creek Preserve, in East Lake Woodlands, and down into the Lake Saint George and Highlands area on the south side of the lake where East Lake meets Tampa Road. 

Barred Owls breed in this area from January to March, typically fledging multiple young.  Audubon's Christmas Bird Count data shows eight Barred Owls counted in North Pinellas in 2009, a slight uptick from earlier counts that show as few as one spotted within the past decade.

Barred Owls nest in tree cavities, nest boxes or in open nests built by hawks or crows and lay pure white eggs.  Adults are about a foot and a half high and have a wingspan of approximately 40 inches.  They eat small mammals, rabbits, birds, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates, including rats. 

The predator of greatest threat to Barred Owls are Great Horned Owls which also inhabit the aforementioned areas.  Owls are susceptible to rat poison as they sometimes eat rats that have come into contact with or have died from poison.  For rat problems, homeowners can use Sherman traps and protect owl habitat, otherwise an unhealthy chain of events occurs in the environment as the owls perish, the rats increase.

The Barred Owls hunt at dusk and at night.  Availability of roadside prey along with high perches, such as lights or power poles, may be leading to the roadside mortalities.  Barred Owl carcasses and injured barred owls have been repeatedly found in the same locations.  These locations include the entrance to East Lake Woodlands, the entrance of John Chesnut Park,  on Ridgemoor Blvd. just east of the intersection of Pine Ridge Blvd., and near the intersection of Tampa Rd. and Lake Saint George Rd.  Any extra caution in these areas will help, but a swooping owl may be quite difficult to see at night and may occur anywhere in this area due to the swampy forests we all enjoy.   

Preserving live or dead trees with cavities which can be used for nesting, placing owl boxes and using traps rather than poison, and generally increasing their awareness of night critters on roadsides are all ways people can help Barred Owls.