{"id":175584,"date":"2026-05-01T05:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=175584"},"modified":"2026-05-01T05:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:37:24","slug":"barred-owl-looking-for-crawdads-at-miners-cove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/05\/01\/barred-owl-looking-for-crawdads-at-miners-cove\/","title":{"rendered":"Barred Owl Looking For Crawdads At Miners Cove"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this week I videoed an adult Barred Owl who was perched in an old willow at Miner&#8217;s Cove at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube fusion-aligncenter\" style=\"--awb-max-width:1000px;--awb-max-height:563px;--awb-width:100%;--awb-margin-bottom:24px;\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT32S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adult Barred Owl at Miner&#039;s Cove\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"This adult Barred Owl was perched in an old willow at Miner&#039;s Cove at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. The owl was busy looking for crawdads for breakfast.\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2026-04-30T07:32:46-06:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/i3.ytimg.com\/vi\/kfEHiA6SgBM\/hqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kfEHiA6SgBM\" \/><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top:56.3%;\" ><iframe class=\"lazyload\" title=\"Adult Barred Owl at Miner&#039;s Cove\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271000%27%20height%3D%27563%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201000%20563%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271000%27%20height%3D%27563%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kfEHiA6SgBM?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0&amp;rel=0\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Watch on <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kfEHiA6SgBM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">YouTube<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There had been two Barred Owl adults very early in the morning when the light was low. Both of the owls were hunting crawdads for their breakfast and possibly catching food for their chicks too.<\/p>\n<p>This pair of owls hatched and fledged at least two chicks this year in the area. The chicks are hiding out deep in the trees around Miner&#8217;s Cove somewhere.<\/p>\n<p>I hope that I&#8217;ll be lucky enough to photograph the young owls soon.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-175578 size-full\" title=\"Adult Barred Owl at Miner's Cove, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg\" alt=\"Adult Barred Owl at Miner's Cove, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Adult Barred Owl at Miner&#8217;s Cove \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/250, ISO 4000, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This photo was taken just a bit later in the morning of one of the adult Barred Owls across the water of the slough. The owls like to munch on crayfish on this dead branch. I wish it were just a bit closer to the road where we use our vehicles as mobile blinds.<\/p>\n<p>Barred Owls prefer mature, fairly quiet forests with a mix of trees and water nearby. Across their range, they\u2019re most often found in bottomland hardwood forests, swamps and wetlands, mature deciduous or mixed forests, and riparian zones.<\/p>\n<p>These owls are pretty adaptable and over time and human habitation, they\u2019ve moved into suburban woodlots, parks with large trees, and wooded neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re trying to find them, think \u201cfollow the water, then look up into big trees.\u201d And listen, because they\u2019ll usually give themselves away long before you ever spot them. I even hear them at home.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m delighted to be able to see, <a href=\"https:\/\/xeno-canto.org\/692307\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">hear<\/span><\/a>, and photograph Barred Owls again. I had truly missed them while I lived out west. Their ebony eyes sure draw me in.<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/barred-owl-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Barred Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n<p>The video was taken with my Canon R7 and Canon RF 100-500mm lens resting on my beanbag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this week I videoed an adult Barred Owl who was perched in an old willow at Miner&#8217;s Cove at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":175578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3755,27,13973,13974],"tags":[4004,3756,14047,3967,294,4104,153,13976,165,3757,4427,4076,6107,902],"class_list":["post-175584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barred-owls","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-barred-owl","tag-miners-cove","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-slough","tag-spring","tag-strix-varia","tag-tree","tag-trees","tag-willow","tag-willows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-JG0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":113940,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/24\/adult-barred-owl-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":175584,"position":0},"title":"Adult Barred Owl At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this adult Barred Owl in nice light yesterday morning at Sequoyah NWR in Oklahoma. Huge thanks to Steve Creek for pointing it out to me.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Barred Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Barred Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barred-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Barred Owl in a willow, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-adult-willow-tree-mia-mcpherson-3781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-adult-willow-tree-mia-mcpherson-3781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-adult-willow-tree-mia-mcpherson-3781.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-adult-willow-tree-mia-mcpherson-3781.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130213,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/05\/young-barred-owl-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":175584,"position":1},"title":"Young Barred Owl Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I was especially thrilled to photograph young Barred Owls yesterday at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. There were two of them hanging out in some willows.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Barred Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Barred Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barred-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Barred Owl perched in a willow tree, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/barred-owl-young-willow-mia-mcpherson-8908.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/barred-owl-young-willow-mia-mcpherson-8908.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/barred-owl-young-willow-mia-mcpherson-8908.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/barred-owl-young-willow-mia-mcpherson-8908.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142762,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/10\/spring-barred-owl-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":175584,"position":2},"title":"Spring Barred Owl At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I was very happy to spot this spring Barred Owl adult yesterday near the end of my visit to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Very happy indeed.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Barred Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Barred Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barred-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Barred Owl adult in a leafy tree, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/barred-owl-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-4503.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/barred-owl-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-4503.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/barred-owl-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-4503.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/barred-owl-adult-spring-mia-mcpherson-4503.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114308,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/12\/barred-owl-from-a-distance\/","url_meta":{"origin":175584,"position":3},"title":"Barred Owl From A Distance","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When I visited Sequoyah NWR for the last time before heading back to Utah I became excited when I spotted a Barred Owl perched in lush reeds.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Barred Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Barred Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barred-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Barred Owl from a distance, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/barred-owl-adult-small-in-frame-mia-mcpherson-4022.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/barred-owl-adult-small-in-frame-mia-mcpherson-4022.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/barred-owl-adult-small-in-frame-mia-mcpherson-4022.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/barred-owl-adult-small-in-frame-mia-mcpherson-4022.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141974,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/24\/spring-barred-owl-in-a-spindly-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":175584,"position":4},"title":"Spring Barred Owl In A Spindly Tree","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm keeping it simple today since I shared two posts yesterday. I photographed this Barred Owl two days ago at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Barred Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Barred Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barred-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Barred Owl in a spindly tree, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-8836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-8836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-8836.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/barred-owl-adult-tree-mia-mcpherson-8836.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113755,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/12\/roadside-fledgling-barred-owl-with-a-crawdad\/","url_meta":{"origin":175584,"position":5},"title":"Roadside Fledgling Barred Owl With A Crawdad","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"There is an amazing story behind this photo of a fledgling Barred Owl with a crawdad, photographed at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Barred Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Barred Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barred-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fledgling Barred Owl with a crawdad, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-baby-with-crawdad-mia-mcpherson-2274.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-baby-with-crawdad-mia-mcpherson-2274.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-baby-with-crawdad-mia-mcpherson-2274.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/barred-owl-baby-with-crawdad-mia-mcpherson-2274.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175584"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175593,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175584\/revisions\/175593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}