"Be it skunks waddling menacingly through backyards, coyotes quietly crossing streets, or outdoor cats turning gardens into litter boxes, Portlanders are used to coexisting with local wildlife. But every year, barred owls test nature's harmonies. No more than two pounds, the big-eyed, round-headed bird, invasive to the Pacific Northwest, is one of the larger and more aggressive owl species. It's been known to silently swoop and even claw the heads of unsuspecting joggers in parks, especially between March and August, its typical breeding season."
"Humans aren't barred owls' only victims: For decades they've threatened spotted owls by competing for habitat (mature forests) and food (rodents), and now the feebler of the strigiformes is in danger of disappearing. Cute as they may be up in the trees of Forest Park or Tualatin Hills, these barred owls will do anything to defend their chicks and territory."
Barred owls are an invasive Pacific Northwest species weighing no more than two pounds, with big eyes and round heads. They can silently swoop and claw humans during their March–August breeding season, with documented attacks including a runner in July 2025 who sustained four talon-consistent puncture marks on the scalp. Barred owls have competed with spotted owls for mature forest habitat and rodents for decades, contributing to spotted owl decline. Records show the first Oregon sighting in the Wenaha River drainage in 1974 and the first Portland detection during the 1995 Christmas Bird Count. Sightings and incidents continue in city parks and riparian surveys.
Read at Portland Monthly
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