Tryon Creek Naturalist Notes

Hi,

On 12.26.09 at 4:50pm, I saw a Great Horned Owl resting on a tree branch. It was on the West Horse Loop trail 100 yards east of the junction to the Englewood Horse Trail (just above the .16 on the map). It was in the area for an hour calling every 5-10 minutes. I stayed close by reading a book until I finally spotted it before it took off. On 12.25.09, I heard an owl call in the same general area (just upstream from Park Creek Bridge), about 3:30pm.

Hope it helps, and feel free to contact me for more info.
Joe

Just giving you some info requested from your sign at Tryon on owl survey. My wife and I hike there often, and on last Thursday, Dec. 17 spotted a Great Horned Owl about 12″ tall. It was not one of the others as it was all grayish brown – no spots. We hear it often in the late afternoon around the West Horse Loop trail (the upper trail on west side closest to the west park boundary – shows .25 mileage on map). On Thursday, while at the same area, heard it below us near the Tryon creek. Then it few in front of us about 15′ and perched in a lower fir limb about 25’ up. We looked at it for about 30 sec and then went on to leave it alone. This was about 4:30pm in the afternoon, just starting to get dark. Also see many Pileated Woodpeckers almost every time we are there on upper and lower loops.

Hope this helps.
Larry R.

Hello,

I saw your posting today in Tryon Creek about owls. I had an owl encounter about a month ago (mid-November) nearby in Springbrook Park behind Lake Oswego Junior High School. It was about 5:00pm and I was running on the trails when a huge owl swooped down from behind me, flew right over my head, and actually brushed my head with his feathers. It scared the crap out of me at first, but then it was awesome to watch him fly slowly back up into a tree just ahead of me, and then watch me as I stared for a while before trotting off on my run. I don’t know for sure what species he was, but he was dark in color, very big, and had those tufts above the eyes to give the appearance of ears or horns. It was awesome!! I know Springbrook is not Tryon, but it’s very close as the owl flies!

Regards,
Jason