As I drove down the road, it was sitting on a low branch about 10 feet above the road. As I approached, it left the limb, and flew *right over my car* not 10 feet away from me, I called Mike on the cell phone (he was the third car in the procession), and we talked about it for a few seconds. I estimated it was 14-16 inches high (maybe even smaller), but I didn't see any ears (which are the horns on the GHO, I think). Anyway, Mike was pretty sure it was a Barred Owl.
How big was the wingspan compared to my car? As wide as the top? Larger/smaller?
Hmm... I'd say its wingspan was slightly smaller than the top of your car, though my memory is kinda blurry. I remember thinking it was a hawk at first, before getting a better look after it landed on the tree to our left. You're right though, I didn't see any ears either, so it's probably a Barred Owl.
I just measured the top of my car. It's rounded, so...it's on the order of 1.1 to 1.2m. A little smaller would be a wingspan of 1.0m or so? 39 inches? My book (Kaufmann) says Barreds (?) are 21", and "Short Eared Owls" are 15", but that SEO's hunt in open fields and BO's are more nocturnal. I've got no idea. The eyes, I think, were bright, like the SEOs. Mike?
According to
Wikipedia,
"The adult is 44 cm long with a 112 cm wingspan..."
So, 1.0m would be within the range, but how reliable is the info on wikipedia? I'm looking at the cover of the "Great Park Guide 2007" (the one they hand out when you purchase the park pass), and I'm thinking the one we saw Sunday looked more brown?
I'm pretty sure it was barred. It is pretty late for short-eared to still be this far south (although quite a few winter at Big Oaks NWF 100 klicks SW of MWW). The overall body shape looked more like barred than GHO. Wish I'd had the binocs or a scope, because it landed in a tree within easy view, but the light was pretty bad. Sibley gives barred owl a 42" (108 cm) wingspan, short-eared 38" (96 cm). Although the initial dive over your car was more typical of short-eared flight than barred... I've also heard several barred owls at MWW in the past week. A short-eared sighting this late would be much more unusual.