This is Bird Note.

You don't need to travel to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

or even to a remote forest, to see owls.

Some owls, including big birds like barred owls and great horned owls, live in the city.

Owls are hunters, and there's a lot to eat in the city,

like rats or even squirrels. Great horned owls favor urban parks, cemeteries, and botanical gardens,

places with big trees. They're huge owls with pointy ear-like tufts, and they roost during the day in trees and hunt at night over open areas nearby.

Look for something shaped like an enormous house cat sitting upright on a branch.

At night, listen for these mellow hoots.

Bard owls sound rowdy by comparison.

The barn owl also likes parks, especially with open spaces below the trees, because it hunts mostly inside the woods.

It's big too, with a smoothly rounded head,

and it sometimes perches down low where it's easy to spot.

We hope you can find owls near where you live.

Take a pair of binoculars, so you can watch them at a distance that's comfortable for you,

and for the owl.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

Bird Note is supported by American Bird Conservancy,

dedicated to conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.

Learn more at ABCbirds.org.