Owls are cool. My son has a bunch near his house in midtown Atlanta. I suppose they have lots of mice and rats there, because that’s what owls like to eat.
Most of my dealings with owls have come at first light while on spring gobbler hunts. Gobblers will often answer to an owl’s hoot, which gives the hunter an idea as to the whereabouts of the turkey. I have seen only 2 or 3 owls in my yard in the 40-plus years I have lived there.
Owls are certainly strange looking creatures – almost like cats with feathers. Their eyes are outsized to help them see at night. I expect bright sunlight hurts their eyes, which is why we rarely see them in daytime. Below are some interesting facts about owls, courtesy of the Audubon Society.
Many owl species have asymmetrical ears. When located at different heights on the owl’s head, their ears can pinpoint the location of sounds in multiple dimensions. Ready, aim, strike.
The eyes of an owl are not true “eyeballs.” Their tube-shaped eyes are completely immobile, providing binocular vision which fully focuses on their prey and boosts depth perception.
Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees. A blood-pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation.
A group of owls is called a parliament. This originates from C.S. Lewis’ description of a meeting of owls in The Chronicles of Narnia.
Owls hunt other owls. Great Horned Owls are the top predator of the smaller Barred Owl. Owls are insanely good hunters and actually hunt other owls. The big ones can eat the smaller ones. The feathers of an owl are specially designed for stealth-flight. A rodent can’t hear an owl approaching until it’s too late. Their talons are so powerful as to often break a prey’s spine on contact.
There are five common owls in Virginia: the Eastern Screech Owl, the Barn Owl, the Barred Owl, the Great Horned Owl and the Short-eared Owl.
Owls, however, are threatened primarily because their prey, the rodents of the fields, are dwindling in numbers. We can thank the farmers’ love for fescue grass for the destruction of the natural grasses of meadows, the prime habitat for mice and small animals. Fescue grass grows so thick that little can survive in its path.
Owls are certainly interesting creatures, and we all wish them well.