Barred Owl Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Barred Owls are a forest species. South Dakota doesn't exactly have vast, sprawling tracts of forest land! They are a species that are few and far between, but one location that does sometimes hold Barred Owls is Newton Hills State Park in Lincoln County. Even there though I've only seen them a handful of times. Nearly all the sightings I've had were in 2008, when a pair was clearly nesting near the "Horse Camp" area of the park, and both adults could sometimes be seen at once. It had been a while since I had seen one at Newton Hills, until May 6th, 2017. I wanted to bird the spring migration, and arrived at Newton Hills right before dawn. The first bird I saw as I arrived? This gorgeous owl, sitting in a tree just off the road, and right by the entrance to the park. A wonderful way to start a day of birding, and a bird that was also very cooperative for the camera.

Barred Owl - Strix varia


Barred Owl 1 April 22nd, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 2 April 22nd, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 3 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 4 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota

Barred Owl 5 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 6 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 7 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 8 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota

Barred Owl 9 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 10 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 11 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Barred Owl 12 July 13th, 2008 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota

Barred Owl 13 May 6th, 2017 Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota