I know there is American Indian fokelore that speaks of an owl showing up and death.  But I was curious if anyone out there knows differently or more on this subject.  An owl bumped against the sliding glass door at my sisters house a day before my Mom died and stay around a week after.  We had a picture but somehow it got deleted otherwise I would have posted it.  I'm interested in hearing any comments good or bad  

Believer

Dang I hate when I spell incorrectly - Folklore not Fokelore  

I am very sorry for your loss :(

Poor Owl, probably recovering, I personally don't see Owl as a harbringer of death at all, in fact I thought only one nation did? The Apache? They are full of little stories of folklore like Apache Tears The screech owl is the one most blamed as its screech is like a banshee or person fighting for their life and screaming. There are so many different species of owl, don't blame them all many sound beautiful and just hoot peacefully lol

Owls are nightworkers, they are about wisdom and secrecy, and sacred flight, they hunt as the light dwindles and their wings cause no sound. Patient and fierce they wait silently and wait and wait the swoop instantly onto their prey, they can also see 360 degrees and can spin their heads round, oh and their claws hurt like crazy!!

From what I understand, being raised in a shamanistic tradition, that the owl represents a bad omen.  It is also superstition that if a bird flies into the window it means that a death will come soon.  An owl is supposed to say the name of someone who will pass soon.  It is remarkable symbolism, you are quite on the right track in thinking it would be connected with her death.

Traditionally, an animal will come around during the time of a death.  Sometimes it is a cat, a lot of times it is a cat, but an owl is also a very apt creature to show up.  

Owls are considered to see beyond our ability, to be wise- knowing the spirit world and walking (flying) between our world and the spirit world.  They can see all angles of a situation, what is coming and what has gone before.  They come out mostly at night, hence their correlation with death- which night also represents as the eve or death of the day.  Being a winged creature, they most certainly are related to the flying away of a soul to the spirit world.

In Scotland seeing a barn owl meant that there would be a death before the night ended.  It was thought that the owl guided death to the right house.

I love owls and all birds of prey and think they are beautiful.

Owls traditionally are seen as the wise and all seeing of birds.  They are characterised as silent, watchful and not hasty.

Suzi