If you are fortunate to have an owl family in your backyard, be prepared for some non-stop screeching. When owlets leave their nesting tree in late spring, they scatter in the woods where their parents keep track of them and bring them food for months during the summer until they finally learn to hunt for themselves. A young owl’s constant screeching communicates its location for an eventual prey delivery from its parents.
Below is a video of a juvenile barred owl doing its screechy call:
Their screeches can be incessant which will give you a chance to track them down in the trees. When found, young barred owls are quite tame and will often quietly stare down at you.
When the barred owls become adults, they will mature into amazing vocalists that distinguishes this owl species as having one of the most varied collections of song.
Here is a sampling of an adult barred duet from the xeno-canto website: