Barred Owl at Race Rocks , November 2010. Images by Raisa Mirza
Raisa Mirza (Ecoguardian) took these photos of the first Barred Owl to be photographed at Race Rocks on November 2, 2010. Raisa notes: ” When I woke up this morning, Virginie said that she had seen an owl and taken a picture which was pretty awesome. Lo and behold when I went outside half an hour later, I spotted this Barred Owl behind the boat house. He was covered in mist. This picture was taken later in the day when the sun had come out. My first owl sighting in the wild ever! I’m pretty excited to share the other shots of him. Couldn’t wait to put this one up. Another first sighting at Race Rocks! Its pretty awesome to know that my photography is contributing to building a cool record.”
The barred owl is a permanent resident of nearby Southern Vancouver Island, It is frequently heard at night in the farms and wooded areas of Metchosin.
In this photo by Raisa, the barred owl has its head turned 180 degrees and it is looking to the left on this photo. The wind pushes up the feathers on the back of the head giving it a very weird appearance!
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Strix
Species: varia
Common Name: Barred Owl, (Barton,1799)
Other owls photographed at Race Rock
Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.
