Nope, I could see enough of it to tell it was an owl. It wasn’t so much hearing the flapping as hearing the rush of it’s flight. If that makes sense. It’s hard to describe!
I went out for an evening walk one night a couple of years ago, here in my tiny rural-New Hampshire town, and a HUGE owl swooped down right over my head and soared off into the darkness. I don’t know what kind it was, but it was amazing. Big enough that I could hear it flapping, and close enough above my head that I felt the breeze of it passing and got a whiff of a dusty, feathery scent.
They’re both magical creatures, so I assume that’s why they can do spells.