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The photos above are of a Barred Owl, so called for it's horizontal barring on the chest and vertical barring on the belly. The plummage of the male and female are identical. The only difference is in their size, the female being the largest. The Barred Owl is 15-25 inches in length and a wingspan of 35-50 inches.
It is sometimes referred to as a Hoot Owl due to it's call "who cooks for you".
The Barred Owl is generally nocturnal but this particular owl on the right and center was shot around 8:30 a.m. in the dense woods on a two track by Teresa. The photo on the left was shot on a snow covered backroad around 5:30 a.m. The McGills had driven past something that look odd in the road. When Michael backed up he realized it was a Barred Owl eating it's breakfast. Michael shone the truck lights on it so Teresa could get a shot of this deceivingly sweet looking raptor.
The Barred Owl can live up to ten years in the wild and twenty years plus in captivity. It's only natural enemy is the Great Horned Owl. Their territory can be 200-900 acres and generally in a moist dense forest or a wooded swamp.
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This male Snowy Owl paid a visit to the McGill's neighborhood in the middle of May. He seemed quite out of place yet quite content. He hunted in the area for almost two weeks before he finally disappeared. The McGills thought that perhaps the lemming population which is the Snowy Owl's main diet, was diminished. Or he was just in the need of a little vacation.
Snowy Owls usually spend most of their time, especially during breeding season, in the Alaskan Tundra. In fact, Barrow, Alaska is home to the largest population of Snowy Owls. Unlike most owls the Snowy Owl does not strive to camouflage itself from it's enemies, which are few or it's prey. They are very powerful flyers with long legs and mighty talons. They even chase away humans, dogs and caribou if they get to close to the Snowy Owl's nest or young.
The female Snowy Owl is, of course, the largest weighing in at about five pounds with a wingspan of up to five feet. The male Snowy Owl reaches maturity (breeding age) when he loses the barring effect on his feathers and turns almost completely white, like this male, at the age of three or four years old.
These beautiful creatures rarely seek shelter from adverse weather. In fact they can easily withstand temperatures of forty below zero. They can also,apparently, withstand alot of heat also. We were having a very warm May with temperatures in the 70's.
Their prey is not only lemmings but fox and other large birds like gulls and eiders. This one seemed to be enjoying his buffet of small creatures in Charlevoix County. Whenever the McGills were photographing and filming him, he usually entertained them with his hunting ability.
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Michael & Teresa McGill-McGills Nature in Motion
3142 Knipe Rd., Central Lake, Michigan 49622
(231)544-6534 (231)499-0707
michael@torchlake.com
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