The Story
I photographed Mrs. P, a Barred Owl (Strix varia), at the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka, Florida, United States, in October 2020, with her dark eyes. Barred Owls are native to eastern North America but have spread to the west coast, where they are treated as invasive and are crowding into the range of the threatened Spotted Owl. They prefer mature forest but can adapt to more open woodland. Their diet is mainly small mammals, along with birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. The center reaches people of all ages through education programs, special yearly events and its Saturdays at ARC visits.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Barred Owl (Strix varia) belongs to the family Strigidae (Owls) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List