Barred Owl Stealing Hats in Oregon

Birdorable Barred Owl with hat

A Barred Owl in Bush's Pasture Park in the town of Salem, Oregon, has been stealing hats from joggers. The hat-loving owl swoops down and snatches hats right off the heads of unsuspecting runners. At least four people have been victimized in the last few weeks and are now forced to buy new hats.

One of the runners named Hilliard told Reuters that he was not hurt in the assault but "just dumbfounded". He said: "It was kind of amazing how it just swooped down and grabbed my hat like that. It just pulled it right off my head like it was nothing!"

The Stateman Journal, a local newspaper, asked their readers to send in names for the now-famous owl and they received more than 100 different suggestions. Our favorites are Hoodini and Owlcapone. The story of the Salem owl has been covered in the news across the country and even made it on the Rachel Maddow show where viewers were challenged to design a new owl warning sign.

The bird is believed to be collecting the hats to build a nest. Owls can be territorial and aggressive during nesting season. A new sign in the park now warns people to use caution from dusk to dawn and recommends people to wear a hard hat.

Cute Barred Owl Gifts

Comments

Louise Warner on March 17, 2017 at 8:31 PM wrote:
what?! wait...
alisa on January 7, 2022 at 9:37 AM wrote:
An owl in North Portland swooped down and took the hat off of my head tonight. Be safe!
Spurwing Plover on February 28, 2025 at 1:58 AM wrote:
Now the Wildlife service is talking about Killing off Barred Owls to save the Spotted Owl and that Makes No Sense

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published
You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy. By clicking submit below, you consent to allow Birdorable to store and process the personal information submitted above to provide you the content requested.

Baby Birdorable: Black Stork

If you think our Birdorable birds are cute as adults, what about when they are babies? Below are some baby photos (shared via Flickr) of the Black Stork. Black Storks build large nests, typically in a very tall forest trees. Clutch size is usually 3-4 eggs; incubation...

2013 Bonanza Bird #15: Buff-bellied Hummingbird

A little jewel joins Birdorable today! Today's Bonanza bird is the Buff-bellied Hummingbird, bringing our total number of hummers to five. Buff-bellied Hummingbirds breed in eastern parts of Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula. Their northernmost breeding range extends into the...

Vulture Humor

We're celebrating Vulture Week because this Saturday, September 6th, marked International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD). This commemorative day has been celebrated since at least 2009 and aims to highlight the importance of vultures and vulture conservation through education. Happy Monday, vulture lovers! Here are some vulture jokes to...

Introducing the Stunning Smew: A New Addition to Birdorable

Today, a striking species of duck joins Birdorable. Our second Bonanza bird of 2021 is the Smew! Smews are Old World ducks found in northern parts of Europe and Asia. These migratory ducks are easily recognized by the striking plumage of...