Got word that they've been seen near Lime Springs for the past week, had some time to go looking today. Adult male-very skittish bird.Have heard there's an immature female in the area too but no luck-that one lets viewers get closer, if I'd found her I probably could have gotten better shots. Huge bird for an owl-red tailed hawk size, maybe a bit bigger.
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nice pics.  I don't believe I have ever seen in the wild.  Deer hunting, I have come across some monster owls.  I think Great Horned variety, but I am a layman, so could be another type.

I almost never see great horneds, but I know they're out there. Barred owls seem to be everywhere when I hunt though. A bit shorter than a GH, but chubbier. Rounded head like the snowy, no "horns". Don't know what it is about owls but they seem to have the "don't mess with me" look much more than other raptors.

Those are cool-thanks for sharing!

Never seen one in the wild,but have seen quite a few other kinds around here (sw of Ft Dodge).

Those are really cool, thanks for sharing.

Owls are just kel in general. I like listening to the bard owls when I am in my tree stand. The fact that they can fly in next you without making a sound is amazing.

About a year ago I was listening to barred owls in my neighborhood so I went online and watched a few youtube videos.  It turns out they are very territorial.

So I ripped the soundtrack from the youtube video and edited out the narrator and other background noise.

Then I loaded it onto my predator call.

It took about 20 seconds of play time for a pair of them to silently glide within about 15 feet of me when I turned on the call.  I tried it again when I heard them last fall, to the same result.  They landed on the electrical line directly above the call.  I made no effort to hide myself, and they didn't seem to care.  They stuck around long enough to watch me skin most of a raccoon.

They are bigger than you would expect, and their silent flight is really impressive.

If anyone here would like the sound file I put together, just email me at my username at yahoo.com  It is an mp3 and would probably even work if you were to open the doors on your car and crank the radio.  It is my observation that they aren't shy.

I've turned it on once when they weren't calling to see if I could bring them in, and I was not successful.  I think you probably need to hear them talking before the call will attract their attention, but I haven't/won't ever use the call enough to be able to say that with certainty.

that is too cool!

Thanks for the tip-I'll have to try that. Had a barred land 6 feet above my head when I was deer hunting a few years ago, had my .44 and not a camera that day. Definitely worth trying to call one in. Will have to try and find a sound file for my phone.

According to the birding forum I'm on, people are driving up from your area and farther south, so you might hear some chatter about it down there. These adult males don't commonly come this far south, it's usually immature birds that don't have the hunting skills yet to survive the Arctic winter. They've also been seeing a juvenile female in the area, if I had just heard of that one I might not have gone looking. This one was a different story though.

I haven't seen one in Iowa in twenty years or more. They are neat birds.

Drop me an email and I will send you mine.

That is great! Thanks for that, saw one here once in 1978.

That is so cool.  One of my favorite things coming back to Iowa was watching the birds of prey darting over the prairie.

what camera and lens are you running for this?

Canon 40D with a Sigma 50-500MM. Owl was 100-125 yards off for these shots.

ETA-found this guy on my way in to work today.
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freedom.  There used to be a couple bald eagles on the way home from school.  I would stop and watch the nest for a few minutes to see if they were around.  A few years back there were some eagles that decided they wanted to live right off of west lake okoboji....people would sit in boats and watch them a bunch.

Mediocre luck on the owls today-saw 2 or 3(not sure if the third was a third or a repeat) but too far off for good pics. Did get a shot of a horned lark I was happy with though.
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Success! Not the adult male, but found this juvenile female this afternoon. With warmer weather on the way, just in time. Days of seeing them are numbered.
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And another horned lark, just for fun.
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Very cool

Nice. Thanks for sharing. I'll have to keep a better eye out knowing they're around.

Way cool....thanks for the share

I was out cutting wood in a grove a few weeks ago, and I saw a large white bird fly in, then back out.  I assume it was a snow owl.  Very impressive birds.