• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • Preserve the Harvest
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Indoor Herb Gardening
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Wildlife Update

April 22, 2009 by Jeanne

Back in New York City, my friends complain that garbage trucks wake them up at 5:30 a.m.. serenading them with urban songs in the alleys between the apartment buildings.

This morning at the same time, I was awakened again by our resident owl. He’s been around a lot this spring. He wakes me up around 5 a.m. If I hear him while I’m walking Shadow, it’s usually very early – just before dawn.

I love owls and used to visit a bird sanctuary at a state park on Long Island, stopping by the owl cages to say hello. So I had to find out more about our friend in Prospect.

I found a great website that helps you identify owls by their call. It’s called Owl Calls & Sounds. I had a vague idea of some species that might live on the east coast of America, so I clicked on a few names until I found him.

He’s a Great Horned Owl.

Way cool.

Here’s what I found out about the Great Horned Owl:

  • They are one of the most widely distributed owl species in North America (that means they are common)
  • They are about 18-21 inches long
  • They like deciduous and conifer trees (good news: maybe they like my pine forest)
  • They hunt at night and eat rabbits, rats, squirrels, mice, moles, bats and weasels. If they’re hungry enough they will eat porcupines and skunks!

So now I know who my morning guest is. But since we share very different taste in food, I’m not inviting him in for breakfast!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Perennial Kits or Do It Yourself?
Next Post: Stop Telling Me It’s Easy! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. keewee

    April 22, 2009 at

    Great horned owls are awesome birds. We had two in the yard last year,and the other birds were making such a racket, in their attempt to make known that there was danger lurking in their territory.

  2. Daffodil Planter

    April 22, 2009 at

    You’re a country girl now! Aren’t you glad you’re so much bigger than the owl?

  3. Janet

    April 25, 2009 at

    Check out our little owl post. He is a Great Horned Owl. http://thequeenofseaford.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-are-you-looking-at.html

  4. Jeanne

    April 25, 2009 at

    Thanks for the owl tips! I sure do feel like a country girl now, although the neighbors continue to call me “that Yankee gal who talks funny” (New York City accent, think Fran Drescher from the Nanny)

    Jeanne

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Explore All Gardening Articles

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

a watering can next to a seed tray on a sidewalk

What Veggies Can I Plant Now?

a closeup of beet greens

Winter Raised Bed Gardens

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Disclosure

Home Garden Joyo participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy.

Footer

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

Raised bed vegetable garden soil soil needs to be replenished periodically. If you’ve done your job right and selected great soil, and amended it with nice compost, you’re going to have super garden soil for the first few years. Because you don’t walk on a raised bed garden the way that you do with typical…

Read More

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

If you’re thinking about building a vegetable garden this year, raised beds are one of the best ways I know of to start a vegetable garden. Instead of renting a rototiller or hand-digging the soil, adding amendments and turning it all under to create a good garden bed, you start with the best soil mixture…

Read More

henbit close up

Henbit: Plant Profile

I’ve put together this henbit plant profile to spotlight a lovely plant – which many gardeners consider a weed. Weed or flower? To me, it’s a matter of perspective. Every spring, at least one of my raised beds is covered in a thick mat of henbit. Henbit is both lovely and practical despite being labeled…

Read More

fresh beets from the garden on the lawn after being washed

The Ultimate Guide to Growing Organic Beets

I wrote this Ultime Guide to Growing Beets to share my techniques for growing tasty, organic beets. Beets are a powerhouse of nutrition. Both the beetroot and the leaves and stems are edible. You can also can beets and beet greens to store them for year-round use. Here, I share with you a full guide…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme