Hooo are you?

March 5, 2015 · 0 Comments

A silent shadow floats over you, you feel you’re being watched. Then you see it. Big yellow eyes fixed on your every move, camouflaged so well you looked right past it at first. A Great Horned Owl, (Bubo Virginianus).
This is not a migratory bird, you can see them all year round. They start nesting before the snow is actually gone. Hollow trees, old heron or raptor nests, even an abandoned bald eagle nest will make a home for a GHO and its young owlets.
GHO’s lay from 1 to 4 white eggs, spherical in shape with a rough texture that will hatch after an incubation of about 30 – 37 days. Young are totally helpless at birth, eyes closed, pink skin and white downy under parts. The female adult does all the incubation with the male being the sole food provider and protector.
These owls have one brood a year and the number of eggs laid depends on the availability of food in the area.
The young are usually ready to fledge and fly around the nest area at about 8 weeks of age, but are still dependent on parents for food.
The female is larger than her mate, these owls ranging from 46 to 63 cm in length with an incredible wingspan of 100 to 145 cm and weigh in at about 910 to 2500 g. Weighing in heavier than our other large owl, the great gray by just a pound or two. However the GHO is capable of taking a house cat, hare or even a skunk along with a variety of other small rodents and assorted birds for its food.
When these owls are defending their territory especially around nesting time, you may hear them vocalizing with the male having a much deeper “hoot”. They may also do a series of bill clapping, hissing and even screams. Last resort if you pay no heed to these warnings they may even fly down and attack feet first as a warning to leave the area. Owls are silent flyers.
Their primary feathers are very unique. They have a comb-like or fringe-like edging referred to as “fluting”. When flight takes place, this “fluting” breaks down the turbulence into small turbulences, making an owls flight “silent”. Incredibly helping the owl to surprise its prey as it flies in unheard.
An owl has very keen eyes; these big yellow eyes are built for the dark (nocturnal). Their eyes don’t move in their sockets like yours and mine, but instead, the owl is able to turn its head to an amazing 180 degrees – Don’t try this at home! And those beautiful facial discs actually direct the sound waves to their tiny ears which lie beneath the feathers. Pretty hard to sneak up on an owl.
Crows often “mob” an owl if it is near their home territory as owls are predators to the crows young. If you hear birds such as crows, chickadees or blue jays “mobbing” which means you will hear quite the commotion in the trees nearby. Birds flitting in and out repeatedly. Check it out; there may be an owl in that tree.
An owl does have predators however who may take an unattended egg or owlet. Raptors, raccoons etc. are always looking for an easy meal. Older siblings may push the younger weaker owlet out of the nest or even eat it. Life is not easy for the young birds. Only 50% of young owls actually survive their first year of life. However the oldest owl recorded was in Ohio USA at the age of 28 years in 2005. WOW.
So next time you think you are being watched, maybe you have a big pair of yellow eyes watching you.
Do you want to have a great up close & personal view of a GHO with its young owlets? Click on this linkhttp://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/46/Great_Horned_Owls/
Or go to Cornell University’s web page and go onto the live web cam. Amazing! Is set up in Savannah Georgia, so you also can pretend you’re in a “warm” climate.
Jennifer Howard
natureworksphotography.blogspot.com

By Jennifer Howard