Jan 22, 2009


by Steve Blight

Now that winter has a firm grasp on the Land O’ Lakes area, we will be able to find out if this will be another year that we get to enjoy the presence of one of North America’s largest owls, the Great Gray Owl. While there is no evidence that this raptor has ever bred in our area, it does occasionally pay us a visit, and almost always in winter. There have been a few reports of sightings of this bird in Eastern Ontario since winter began, but not too many.

The Great Gray Owl is primarily a bird of dense, northern boreal forests across North America and Eurasia. In Canada, it breeds from north of Lake Huron and Lake Superior north to the tree line, and west to the Pacific coast. It is a small rodent specialist, favouring areas near bogs, forest edges, and other openings. It does not normally migrate, but in some winters prey numbers in its normal northern habitat are scarce, and individuals wander south and east to southern Canada and the northern United States. In the winter of 2004-2005, many thousands of these beautiful birds invaded southern Ontario in what is believed to have been the largest “irruption” of this bird on record. I recall driving from Sharbot Lake to Ottawa one Sunday afternoon in January 2005 and seeing four of them during that one trip. In my experience, they do not show much fear of humans – one allowed me to get within 15 or 20 feet of it before retreating to a perch a bit further away.

These owls are almost unmistakeable. Adults have a big, rounded head with a grey face and striking yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark streaks; the upper parts are grey with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest "facial disc" of any bird of prey. The feet are heavily feathered and remain hidden from view. Like many raptors, the females are larger than males. Sitting upright, males average about 26 inches in height, with females about an inch longer. Both males and females weigh between two and three pounds.

Although it appears to be bigger than other owls of the northern forest, its actual body mass is at least 15% smaller than the more common Great Horned Owl. Its plumage makes up a large portion of the bulk of the bird, allowing it to withstand the bitter cold of northern winters.

Great Gray Owls hunt mainly during early morning and late afternoon, especially during winter, but will also hunt during other daylight hours and at night. They can often be seen perched on poles or fence posts along roads. When the ground is covered with snow, a Great Gray Owl can hunt by hearing alone and often plunges into the snow to capture small rodents moving 12 inches or more below the surface. It has been reported to break through snow crust thick enough to support the weight of a 180-pound person.

Adults usually pair up in January or February, and the female incubates two to five eggs through most of March until they hatch, typically at the beginning of April. The abundance of food in the nesting area often affects the number of eggs a female lays, which is quite common in owl species. The female may lose up to 30% of her body weight during incubation and brooding. The male visits the nest every two to three hours, feeding the female and young throughout the day.

Over the next few months, watch the roadsides as you travel about to see if this will be Great Gray Owl winter. Lorraine and I would love to hear about any local sightings of this big beautiful bird.

Please feel free to report any observations to Lorraine Julien at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Support local
independant journalism by becoming a patron of the Frontenac News.