Great Horned Owls
THE GREAT horned owl symbolizes wisdom from mythology to cartoons, but it's better described as a stealth-bombing predator with wideranging tastes. "Great horned owis will eat just about anything," says Carin Avila, education coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program. Also called a tiger owl, it feeds on rodents, rabbits, snakes, red-tailed hawks, opossums, bats, skunks (because it can't smell well), and even other owls. When food is abundant, it consumes only the choicest parts of its prey-usually the head.
This airborne killer, largest of the North American owls, is found throughout most of the continent and thrives in a variety of habitats: forest, desert, and tundra, as well as suburban subdivisions, city parks, and golf courses. Colorado. Kansas, and Nebraska have the highest density of great horned owls in the United States. Instead of migrating, these owls tend to stick to a small home range (usually several square miles) if the hunting is good.
The great horned owl is a vocal species, so your ears are the best tools to find them. During the courtship season in December and January, you can hear male owls signaling to females at night with four to five deep hoots. Interested females respond with a higher-pitched, two-syllable hoot.
Great horned owls aren't fussy about their homes or roosting sites. They prefer abandoned crow or hawk nests, but will also forcibly evict occupants When hiking in woods bordered by meadows and grassland, look for messy stick bundles high in the crowns of old frees or large hollow openings in trunks.
While hearing owls is easy, seeing them is tough. Camouflaged with gray, white, and brown feathers, they often perch at the edges of open fields, where at dusk and dawn they watch and listen for their next meal. Their roosting trees are often surrounded by neatly packed "pellets" containing the regurgitated bones, feathers, and fur of prey.
3 OWL HOTSPOTS BARR LAKE STATE PARK, CO
Great horned owls and 300 other bird species call this Denver refuge home. Circle the lake on an 8.8-mile trait that crosses cottonwood groves and prairies. Observation stations mark prime viewing spots, and rangers offer guided walks. (303) 659-6005; http://parks.state.co.us
CHEROKEE NAT'L FOREST, TN
Open meadows finged by trees are great places to watch owls hunt. Find dozens of these grassy bald spots along the 5.4-mile section of Tennessee's AT from Indian Grave Gap to UnaKa Mountain — including Beauty Spot Gap. (423) 476-9700; http://fs.fed.us/r8/cherokee
LOLO NATIONAL FOREST, MT
Prowl for owls on the Bitterroot River's Maclay Rat Interpretative Trail. The 1.8-mile hike winds through ponderosa pines, coltonwoods, and grassy fields that also hosl bald eagles, and red-tailed hawks. (406) 329-3814; http://missoulian.com/specials/hikebike
Leading-edge feathers on an owl's wings have a velvet fringe to decrease turbulence, allowing it to swoop in silently. Sunset and night are hunting hours, once an owl spots Stacks by gliding silently from its high perch.
An owl can turn its head 270 degrees — not a complete rotation, but close.
Hornlike feathered tufts on the head camouflage the bird by disguising its profile against foliage. Owls also utilize these tufts to signal one another.
A saucer-shaped facial structure tunnels sound directly to the ears, like a radar dish.
An owl seizes prey (Which can be twice or 3 times its own weight) with forward- and rearfacing talons that together like pincers. When it straightens its leg, a tendon relaxes and the talons unlock.
Asymmetrical ears, with one slightly higher than the other, help the owl pinpoint the location of a noise. Scientists have discovered that owls can catch prey entirely by sound.
Large, round, yellow eyes catch all available light at dusk and provide excellent binocular vision. "Owls have 2.5 limes better eyesight than humans." Avil a says.
When an owl is threatened, it increases its size threefold by puffing its chin feathers, flaring its wings, and expanding its chest.
Source: Backpacker
This airborne killer, largest of the North American owls, is found throughout most of the continent and thrives in a variety of habitats: forest, desert, and tundra, as well as suburban subdivisions, city parks, and golf courses. Colorado. Kansas, and Nebraska have the highest density of great horned owls in the United States. Instead of migrating, these owls tend to stick to a small home range (usually several square miles) if the hunting is good.
The great horned owl is a vocal species, so your ears are the best tools to find them. During the courtship season in December and January, you can hear male owls signaling to females at night with four to five deep hoots. Interested females respond with a higher-pitched, two-syllable hoot.
Great horned owls aren't fussy about their homes or roosting sites. They prefer abandoned crow or hawk nests, but will also forcibly evict occupants When hiking in woods bordered by meadows and grassland, look for messy stick bundles high in the crowns of old frees or large hollow openings in trunks.
While hearing owls is easy, seeing them is tough. Camouflaged with gray, white, and brown feathers, they often perch at the edges of open fields, where at dusk and dawn they watch and listen for their next meal. Their roosting trees are often surrounded by neatly packed "pellets" containing the regurgitated bones, feathers, and fur of prey.
3 OWL HOTSPOTS BARR LAKE STATE PARK, CO
Great horned owls and 300 other bird species call this Denver refuge home. Circle the lake on an 8.8-mile trait that crosses cottonwood groves and prairies. Observation stations mark prime viewing spots, and rangers offer guided walks. (303) 659-6005; http://parks.state.co.us
CHEROKEE NAT'L FOREST, TN
Open meadows finged by trees are great places to watch owls hunt. Find dozens of these grassy bald spots along the 5.4-mile section of Tennessee's AT from Indian Grave Gap to UnaKa Mountain — including Beauty Spot Gap. (423) 476-9700; http://fs.fed.us/r8/cherokee
LOLO NATIONAL FOREST, MT
Prowl for owls on the Bitterroot River's Maclay Rat Interpretative Trail. The 1.8-mile hike winds through ponderosa pines, coltonwoods, and grassy fields that also hosl bald eagles, and red-tailed hawks. (406) 329-3814; http://missoulian.com/specials/hikebike
Leading-edge feathers on an owl's wings have a velvet fringe to decrease turbulence, allowing it to swoop in silently. Sunset and night are hunting hours, once an owl spots Stacks by gliding silently from its high perch.
An owl can turn its head 270 degrees — not a complete rotation, but close.
Hornlike feathered tufts on the head camouflage the bird by disguising its profile against foliage. Owls also utilize these tufts to signal one another.
A saucer-shaped facial structure tunnels sound directly to the ears, like a radar dish.
An owl seizes prey (Which can be twice or 3 times its own weight) with forward- and rearfacing talons that together like pincers. When it straightens its leg, a tendon relaxes and the talons unlock.
Asymmetrical ears, with one slightly higher than the other, help the owl pinpoint the location of a noise. Scientists have discovered that owls can catch prey entirely by sound.
Large, round, yellow eyes catch all available light at dusk and provide excellent binocular vision. "Owls have 2.5 limes better eyesight than humans." Avil a says.
When an owl is threatened, it increases its size threefold by puffing its chin feathers, flaring its wings, and expanding its chest.
Source: Backpacker
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