On a much sadder note: yesterday while at Jack Pine trail two of us investigated alarm calls from several bluejays in the woods behind the main feeders. It was pretty obvious that a predator had them going crazy. It appears that even when a dead Barred Owl is discovered by Jays that they call out in alarm. The bird was face down in the snow and may have been covered prior to the recent thaw. I had to dig it out and brush some ice off its chest area. It appears to be a starvation/freezing to death instance and there were no signs of physical trauma, blood etc...all feathers remained on the bird. I called the Wild Bird Care centre just down the road and they asked me to bring it there which I did. I was told there were many other similar stories and it has been a brutal Winter for owls etc... While its tough to tell, considering the differences between live and dead birds, I'm pretty sure its not the owl pictured here. I took a few photos of the bird to make some comparisons and apart from appearing considerably smaller ( from anecdotal observations) than the owl pictured, several markings do appear very different. The owl in this shot and a second very skittish Barred have (from what I have heard) not been seen in a couple of weeks but its their nature to not be seen and without checking its probably not too early for them to be returning to their breeding territories if in fact they left said area for the Winter (some do).