Barred Owls Are Back On Bird Cams In 2025!

Everyone’s favorite family of Barred Owls has returned to their treetop nest box in the backyard of Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) founder and CEO Jim Carpenter. The female settled in on the morning of March 5 to lay her first egg, marking the twelfth consecutive year of streaming Barred Owls live from this site near Indianapolis, Indiana. Stay tuned to the WBU Barred Owl Cam to see if the female lays a second egg, which could arrive within the next 48 hours.

While the female stays busy incubating her clutch in the nest box, her mate is responsible for providing food. Viewers may see him deliver prey at any time, but most meals will arrive at night. Barred Owls are opportunistic predators, meaning there’s likely to be a diverse menu—everything from earthworms to rabbits—collected throughout the breeding season. Watch the owls’ comings and goings from the second cam’s Outside View.

Don’t forget to open your ears and listen for the owls’ conversations ringing through the forest as they venture through the breeding season. We’re bound to hear plenty of the Barred Owl’s classic call, described as “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?” The mates may also reunite for duets filled with cackles, hoots, caws, and gurgles near the nest box.

Follow daily updates from the cam on Twitter/X (@WBU_Owls).