Ontario’s Owls
Today’s Featured Owl is the Great Horned Owl
How many different species of owls do we have in Ontario? Have you wondered?
The answer is eleven species. Have you seen any in the wild?
I have been very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and have observed ten owl species in the wild in Ontario.
It’s a glorious to see any owl in the wild. Your heart may begin to flutter, you may be silent in awe, or you may want to do a happy dance or even shed tears of joy. Every owl encounter is different, the owls come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are tiny like our Northern Saw-whet Owl which are the size of a can of soda to our much larger Snowy Owls which can be over 2 feet tall. But you can be guaranteed that every owl sighting is a truly remarkable moment that you will never forget!
Eastern Screech Owl- Top left and Bottom Right. Great Gray Owl- Top Right. Northern Saw-whet Owl- Bottom Left. Barred Owl- Center.
The eleven species we have in Ontario are;
- Great Horned Owl
- Barred Owl
- Eastern Screech Owl
- Long-eared Owl
- Short-eared Owl
- Northern Saw-whet Owl
- Snowy Owl
- Great Gray Owl
- Boreal Owl
- Northern Hawk Owl
- Barn Owl
Over the next several weeks I will give a short overview of each owl species.
Today’s owl is the Great Horned Owl. (Bubo virginianus)
The Great Horned Owl is our most widely distributed owl found all through Canada and in fact, all of North, Central and South America.
The Great Horned Owl is one of our largest owls standing up to 32 inches tall with a wing-span of up to 5 feet and weighing in at up to 4 pounds. This is one large owl!.
They are commonly found in our cities and towns living in parks and woodlots. If there is enough prey to sustain a breeding pair, you may have some near you! Their favorite foods include small rodents, rabbits and birds. One of their favourite meals due to their poorly developed sense of smell are skunks! Delicious!
This is one cranky looking Great Horned Owl. Look way way up in the trees. They love to sit up high and observe their kingdom from above.
But be forewarned, their camouflage is excellent.
This photo shows their excellent camouflage, but those big tufted ears make it a little easier to spot.
In January, it is breeding season, so if you can get out in the late afternoon, early evening, you can listen for them to hoot! It will be unmistakable, a loud deep “hoo-hoo-hooooo-hoo-hoo.”
Another tip to find a Great Horned Owl is to observe other bird’s behaviour. This generally works for all species of owls. Birds such as crows, blue jays, chickadees making a lot of noise concentrated in one area will often point out the owl for you. The birds are letting the other birds know that there is a threat from a predator (the owl), so be aware of your surroundings.
But the most important and only way to find owls in their natural setting is to get outside. So hit your local park, conservation area or any natural area close to you and maybe you’ll find the elusive Great Horned Owl or maybe some Great Horned Owlets!
It’s always a precious sight to see Great Horned Owlets!
If you need a little help finding owls, you’ve come to the right place. Check out our Toronto Nature Lovers Meetup Group for some of our upcoming wildlife tours. We can also do private tours if you’re from the Toronto area or from out of town and would like to experience nature first hand. We can show you an owl or two in the wild! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or call Murray at 647-281-9393.
Please Follow us on twitter @TONaturelovers or Like us on Facebook at Eco-Treks.
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