Owl Central: Barred Owls

Barred Owls
Four sub-species of barred owls live in North America. Most live on the eastern side of the USA, though there is some other places where they live. But the most dense population is in the south, and more specifically, Texas.
Barred Owls are named for their brown barred feathers that's over most of them. These feathers are good camoflage (sp?) in their different types of woodland homes. They, like the Boreal Owl, stay near the truck of the tree they're in when perching, so are basically invisible. Plus, their eyes are brown, so they're nearly invisible, though their call can be clearly heard nearby.
Barred Owls can get picky about their neighbors. While they are usually friendly to humans they trust and know are friendly, they can cause a noisy ruckus at strange humans they don't know. Chicks seem to be more trusting than adults, however.
Speaking of chicks, these little guys can keep their parents going. They demand food constantly, until they leave the nest. The only exception is when both parents are gone, and the chicks usually take the chance to preen themselves. Dada will leave his just-nighttime hunting routine and go to a day-and-night hunting routine so he can feed the chicks. And then when the chicks are old enough to be left, Momma will join Dada in getting food from their chicks. And still the chicks demand more, more, more!!! When they're ready to go, all will leave the nest. At first it's a short flight away (and the food-demands continue), but the chicks eventually leave for good, led by the largest chick.
Momma usually lays her eggs somewhere in March. After the first egg, she does all the incubating. She lays a new egg every two days. Usually, there are 5 white Barred Owl eggs in a clutch.
And then the eggs hatch, and the demands begin. The fun part is, the chicks are helpless and their eyes are clutched shut for around 5 days. But they are loud and demanding for food from Momma and Dada ever since the hatching.
Their first adventure out of the nesting tree are usually daytime ones. They come out, and perch on branches near the nest-hole. They sometimes go back into the nest at night, but sometimes they stick around their perch.