Sadly, I went to see the Barred Owl without knowing it, Christmas Day was a "Birding Bob Owl" tour. He played calls ten minutes before the normal fly out, causing the bird to return the calls and fly out prematurely. Unfortunately, this prevented all of those watching from seeing the normal stretching routine of the owl. Even with the owl in plain view calls were played repeatedly moving the owl around The Ramble. At one point a high intensity flashlight was shown on the owl, and it quickly flew off.

Bob's group saw the owl, but not its normal behavior. A friend described these tours as fast food birding, quick and easy but with empty calories.

Luckily, all was not lost this evening. After the show was over, the owl settled down, caught a bird roosting in leaf litter and ate it.