The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is a large owl native to North America. It gets its name from the horizontal brown and white barring on its chest and belly. Barred Owls range across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, and in recent decades their range has expanded westward across the Great Plains states. This has led bird watchers and ornithologists to wonder, are there now Barred Owls in Nebraska?
Nebraska sits in the Great Plains region, bordering Kansas to the south and South Dakota to the north. The state has a variety of habitats including prairies, forests, wetlands, and river systems. This diversity of ecosystems supports nearly 500 bird species, both year-round residents and migratory species. The recent westward expansion of the Barred Owl’s range raises the question of whether it has now moved into Nebraska as well.
Barred Owl Range Expansion
The Barred Owl historically lived in dense forests across the eastern United States, as far west as eastern Texas and Oklahoma. But starting in the 1900s, ornithologists noticed Barred Owls moving further west into the Great Plains. By the 1950s they were spotted in Kansas, and by the 1970s they had occupied eastern Nebraska along the Missouri River.
What led to this rapid westward expansion? A likely explanation is that human changes to the landscape created suitable new habitat for Barred Owls. Reforestation efforts in the Great Plains starting in the late 1800s established wooded corridors along rivers and streams. Suburban sprawl also increased forest patches. The Barred Owl adapted well to these human-altered environments.
Timeline of Range Expansion
Year | Western Range Limit |
---|---|
1800s | Eastern Texas and Oklahoma |
1950s | Eastern Kansas |
1970s | Eastern Nebraska and Iowa |
2000s | Western Nebraska and Eastern Colorado |
This table shows how the Barred Owl’s range expanded westward over 200 years, occupying eastern Nebraska by the 1970s.
Current Barred Owl Population in Nebraska
Based on data from ornithology records and bird surveys, Barred Owls now occupy nearly all of Nebraska. They are year-round residents across the eastern part of the state, and breed in wooded areas along river systems statewide.
The Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas is an ongoing statewide survey started in 2016 to document all bird species breeding in the state. Their initial results from 2016-2019 found confirmed and probable breeding Barred Owls in several regions:
- Along the Missouri, Platte, and Niobrara Rivers in northern and eastern Nebraska
- In the Pine Ridge area of northwestern Nebraska
- Along riparian forests in southern Nebraska like the Republican River valley
The highest density of breeding Barred Owls occurs in forests along the Missouri River on the Iowa border. But the atlas results confirm they now occupy breeding territories across the state.
Barred Owl Territory Size
Barred Owls are highly territorial birds. A breeding pair needs a large area to find enough food and nesting sites within their defended territory. According to research, an average Barred Owl territory requires the following space:
Habitat Type | Territory Size |
---|---|
Mature forest | 200-400 acres |
River forest corridor | 400-600 acres |
Suburban park | 100-200 acres |
With such large territories, it’s not surprising that Barred Owl numbers are lower in areas like western Nebraska with fewer forests. But the species has proven adaptable to wooded suburbs and river forests, allowing it to occupy breeding niches statewide.
Habitat Use in Nebraska
Although the Barred Owl is flexible enough to live in a variety of wooded habitats, it does prefer certain mature forest features for nesting and foraging needs. Nebraska landscapes that offer optimum habitat have helped Barred Owls thrive as they expanded their range westward.
Mature River Forests
The Missouri, Platte, and other eastern river systems feature extensive mature cottonwood-dominated forest. These river forests provide ideal habitat with:
- Large old trees for nesting cavities
- Multi-layered forest structure for roosting and hiding
- Wooded corridors for foraging along rivers
Research in Nebraska’s Platte River valley found that Barred Owl home ranges closely followed the river forest corridor, with numerous suitable nest trees. State conservation efforts to protect tracts of mature river forest have likely supported the growing Barred Owl population.
Wooded Suburbs and Parks
The Barred Owl has proven very adaptable to suburban areas that retain patches of woodlands with mature trees. Gardens, parks, golf courses, and other semi-forested suburban habitats provide smaller but adequate nesting and hunting grounds, as seen in Omaha, Lincoln, and other cities. These wooded suburban landscapes offer:
- Backyard woodlots and large trees for nesting
- Ponds and streams that attract frogs, fish, and insects to prey on
- Low roosting perches like telephone poles near open grassy areas for hunting
The flexible Barred Owl seems quite comfortable in these human-influenced environments. Urban planning that retains natural woodlands and mature trees supports these adaptable owls.
Diet and Hunting in Nebraska
Barred Owls are opportunistic hunters, using a variety of techniques to take advantage of whatever prey is abundant in their local habitat. Studies in Nebraska show they consume a wide range of small animals depending on location:
Location | Sample Prey Species |
---|---|
River forests | Fish, frogs, crayfish, small mammals like voles and mice |
Pine forests | Mice, voles, snakes, large insects |
Suburban parks | Rats, squirrels, rabbits, geese, ducks |
Their versatile hunting style allows them to thrive across Nebraska, even if favorite prey species are not available in all areas. And they will eat almost anything they can overpower, even scavenging carrion at times.
Barred Owls have variety of hunting techniques to take advantage of different prey in their local habitat:
- Perch-and-wait hunting: Owls wait on a high perch then swoop down on prey on the ground.
- Wading: Walking through water or leaf litter to grab fish, frogs, or insects.
- Hovering: Fluttering over prey before dropping down to grab it.
- Crust-walking: Walking on top of snow to grab mice and voles active beneath.
Using these varied hunting methods, Barred Owls are able to thrive across the diverse landscapes of Nebraska, from mature riverbottom forests to suburban neighborhood parks. This adaptability has allowed them to greatly expand their range across the state over the past 50 years.
Interactions with Other Species
The Barred Owl’s expansion across Nebraska has brought it into contact with several native owl species. In some cases, the larger and more aggressive Barred Owl outcompetes smaller relatives for habitat and resources. Monitoring is needed to ensure Nebraska’s native owls are not displaced.
Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) are actually larger than Barred Owls and also very aggressive. These two big forest owls seem to co-exist by partitioning habitat, with Great Horned Owls claiming the best forested territories first, forcing Barred Owls to marginal areas. Generally the Great Horned Owl population in Nebraska has remained stable despite the Barred Owl’s move west.
Eastern Screech Owl
Screech Owls (Megascops asio) are tiny relatives to Barred Owls that nest in tree cavities. As Barred Owls move into their eastern Nebraska forest habitat, there is concern they may displace Screech Owls. Loss of nest sites is a major threat, since the much larger Barred Owls can evict Screech Owls from their tree holes. Continued monitoring of Screech Owl populations is warranted.
Burrowing Owl
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) live in open shortgrass prairies throughout Nebraska, well outside the wooded habitats used by Barred Owls. Thus there is likely little interaction or competition between the two species. Burrowing Owl numbers have declined in Nebraska, but loss of prairie habitat is the primary threat, not interference from Barred Owls.
Overall the Barred Owl’s expansion across Nebraska has probably negatively impacted forest-dwelling owls like the Eastern Screech Owl to some degree. But there are no signs yet of drastic declines linked to the larger owl. Continued monitoring is recommended, however.
Adaptability of Barred Owls
Several key adaptations have allowed Barred Owls to successfully expand their range across Nebraska over the past century:
- Flexible habitat use – Can hunt and nest in a variety of forest types and structures.
- Opportunistic hunting – Preys on diverse species using multiple techniques.
- Aggressive defense – Actively defends prime habitat against other owls.
- Suburban compatibility – Readily adapts to suburban parks and wooded neighborhoods.
- Enlarged home range size – In lower-quality habitat like suburbs, ranges increase to find adequate resources.
The Barred Owl has proven to be a very adaptable species. This helps explain how it succeeded in greatly expanding its distribution westward across Nebraska over the past century. These adaptable traits will likely allow Barred Owls to continue thriving in Nebraska environments long into the future.
Conclusion
In summary, the Barred Owl has expanded its historic range westward across Nebraska over the past 100 years. It now occupies extensive forest habitat along Missouri River and other wooded eastern river systems. Barred Owls have also proven adaptable to wooded suburban parks and neighborhoods statewide.
This versatile owl fills an important niche as a key predator of small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. It helps regulate prey numbers and contributes to the rich avian diversity of Nebraska. Yet it also creates conservation concerns, as aggressive Barred Owls may compete with smaller native owl species for habitat and resources.
Continued monitoring is recommended to ensure populations of species like the Eastern Screech Owl remain stable despite the Barred Owl’s expansion across the state. But overall, the adaptable Barred Owl has become a successful new year-round resident species of Nebraska’s varied forests and wooded landscapes over the past half century.