R. K. Cook's video: Daytime Views of Barred Owl in Tree

HANK WILDING'S JOURNAL: The Barred Owl asks a strange question of woodland visitors: "Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?" Those venturing an answer are apt to be rewarded with raucous, hair-raising laughter, another vocal trademark of this beautiful owl. Ole Hank was lucky enough to secure daytime footage of this camera-shy birdie this past summer (2016). On the first occasion, in June, I came across a Barred Owl in the copse of pine trees surrounding my freshwater pond. He was way up yonder in a wind-tossed slash pine, whose branches creaked and groaned eerily in a brewing storm. Wisely, Mr. Owl took flight before getting brained by a falling branch. The second time, in July, I got fairly close to two Barred Owls in another pine forest in sight of my house. I was able to photograph only one, but the other can be heard off camera making another distinctive vocalization — a sort of whistling hiss. By the way, Ole Hank does a pretty dang good imitation of the Barred Owl's "who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?" cry. For some reason, though, I don't get a lot of requests for it ...