INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Many people have said they have seen owls in Independence, and some people are going to sleep with a familiar "hoot" outside their windows.
Jennifer Kelley said owls call back and forth to each other between her front and backyard.
"Like those dogs are barking when we're talking, it's them communicating," said Kelley, who calls herself an animal lover. "You don't get to brag about having them."
Kelley will not let her small dog Henry go outside alone at night because of something she found outside.
In late September, Kelley found the remains of a nighthawk tossed underneath a large oak tree in her front yard.
"That same week we found the bird, the cat kind of disappeared too," said Kelley, talking about a stray cat that had been living under her front porch. "You can't be certain, but we were trying to catch her into the shelter."
In a Facebook post, some people said they have not heard this many owls in parts of Independence in 20 years.
Others wonder if the owls are showing up because they have been displaced due to development.
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A study would need to be done to determine if there are more owls in the area and the true cause of the sightings, according to naturalists at the Lakeside Nature Center and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Other possible reasons could include weather, storm damage and people moving into the land where the owls already live. Again, none of these reasons are definitive.
If you're walking in areas where owls live, one thing is for certain.
"Generally speaking, owls don't attack people. They may be protecting territories; they may be protecting offspring. It's not that an owl is going to attack a human for the sake of I'm going to go take this guy down," explained Jacque Blessington, Senior Recreation Director at Lakeside Nature Center.
