You may hear them, but you’ll be challenged to see them THE OWL
By DOLLY ANDERSON
Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist
CANFIELD
The haunting cry startles us momentarily.
We get a glimpse, if we are lucky, and bad luck if we believe the flying creature that produces the cry can foretell the future.
All this is from one special bird: the owl.
There are prehistoric rock drawings in France and Australia of the owl. Many legends, beliefs and wives tales were handed down across continents about this strange, unnatural bird.
Unnatural because its appearance and behavior are quite different from other birds, quite different from other raptors. The owl comes to life at night and it sees in the dark.
In North America, the Tlingi Indian warriors were ever faithful to the owl. They would run into battle hooting like owls and put the fear into their enemies. The Sierra tribe of California thought the great-horned owl captured souls of the dead and carried them to the other world.
Owls have exceptional hearing, which will allow them to catch prey under the snow.
Their specialized vision with the eyes directly forward provides them with binocular vision, seeing with both eyes at once, and giving them the ability to hunt at night.
The owl has powerful talons which, being at the top of the food chain, a predator needs. Its talons make a snare.
The owl cannot chew but rips its food apart, swallowing manageable pieces. The bone and fur will be regurgitated later into owl pellets.
Finally, owl feathers greatly reduce the sound by passing the air over the feathers, truly a silent killer.
Finding and listening for owls can be quite fun. I usually wait till dusk. I can hear them calling to each other within the shadows of the fir trees near my home.
The barn owl lives in structures by the same name. When Ohio was first settled and 90 percent of the land was forest, few barn owls lived here. The population peaked in the 1930s, but with the loss of so many structures, the barn owl is listed as threatened.
The barred owl, is known for its raucous hooting and caterwauling back and forth. They are large owls and almost as big as a great-horned owl, but not as powerful.
The most common owl is the Eastern screech owl. This little owl is no bigger than a robin. But be advised, this little raptor is a predator all the same. Screech owls don’t screech; they emit a quavering whistle.
The second most common owl and powerful predator is the great-horned owl. They are easily recognized by their hooting and can take down large prey such as cats, skunks, barred owls and osprey. They have been known to strike people with their talons and you won’t hear them coming.
There are many other variety of owls, but these are the four you may come across this season. So as the winter nears its end, go out and listen. You may hear the beautiful haunting and little scary cry of an owl – but you probably won’t see it.
For details and photos on owls in Ohio, go to http://go.osu.edu/owlbook.