Owls

[Astronuc]

Great gray owl

Awesome picture by Kim Steinger, Grand Prize Winner in Nature Photograhy contest by National Wildlife Magazine.

[Astronuc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owls

An owl is a solitary, mainly nocturnal bird of prey. Owls belong to the order Strigiformes, in which there are 222 known species. Owls mostly hunt small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found on all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland, and some remote islands. Though owls are typically solitary, the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament.

I apparently heard a Great Horned Owl at 0330 this morning.
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=virginianus

http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=all

http://www.owlpages.com/index.php

I've stepped outside at night when we have several owls in the neighborhood, and I found one sitting in a tree several yards beyond our property line.  I could here maybe 2 or 3 others.  It seems that they are more numerous this year than in the past, or maybe its just that we've had our windows open at night since the weather has been rather cool lately, and so we've been able to hear them more than in the past.

[Astronuc]

We've had a lot of owls this past year - more than I remember.  I hear them at night, particular between 0200 and 0400, and I have found several Barred Owls congregrated in trees behind our property.  I also watched a Great Horned owl fly through our backyard - I believe with a squirrel in its talons.

Anyway, here are some photos from our area or taken by local birdwatchers during their travels -

http://www.watermanbirdclub.org/AlbumNP6_Owls.htm