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Strix nebulosa
This large owl's size is partially attributable to its fluffy feathers. Still, it is a very impressive bird of prey. Its head is large and rounded. Predominant color is gray or grayish brown.
Generally associated with boreal forests. In some winters when prey populations crash, these big birds head south in what is known as an "irruption", in an attempt to find food.
I got this photo In the winter of 2004-2005 during a massive irruption of northern owls, which occurred in Minnesota and other northern states. Usually I see one or two on winter days in northern Minnesota when looking for them. That particular winter I was seeing up to 65 of these birds a day. They are not particularly afraid of humans and cars so photography can be very good. However, that lack of fear also led to many being hit by cars as the owls hunted along roadways.
Spotted on Jan 8, 2005
Submitted on Mar 13, 2012
8 Comments
Is there any way to get on some sort of watch list for irruptions, or is it just a by ear thing?
We have a few pairs that are rumored to nest in the state in Sax-Zim Bog, northwest of Duluth. The only time I've seen them, however, are during the winter with a few always showing up in the northern part of the state. Irruptions are somewhat irregular, but roughly occur every 10 years or so. This last big irruption was in the winter of 2004-2005 so we should be coming up on another one.
Beautiful birds. The only one I have ever seen (first Humboldt county record) a number of years ago was killed by a pickup truck as it flew across the highway. So sad. On the positive side, though, the specimen was mounted and found a prominent home in the Wildlife Department at the University there.
Absolutely gorgeous. Great Grays are by far my favorite bird and I would love to see one in the wild some day. How often do these irruptions occur? Perhaps I can catch the next one.
This is beautiful!!! One of my missions is to see one of these guys in the wild! Gorgeous shot!
Cool!
Thanks Sachin for your nice words. It was cold this day and snow flakes were falling; one can see snowflakes in the photo. Just about froze my fingers...grin. But it was such a great opportunity; maybe once in a lifetime opportunity to see this many owls in such a relatively small area.
Amazing, , so nice looking,