Owls of Ohio - Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Owls of Ohio - Ohio Department of Natural Resources Owls of Ohio - Ohio Department of Natural Resources
hooting in mid-to late fall, and eggs are often laid by the end of January. Theowls’ insulating down is extremely efficient and able to warm the eggs to about 98degrees, even when temperatures plummet to below zero Fahrenheit. Incubationlasts about a month, strictly by the female, and the young typically hatch in lateFebruary or March. Within six weeks, the young owls are active and able to climbabout, at which point they may scramble onto limbs away from the nest. Forty-five tofifty days after hatching, they are capable of flight.Vo c aliz ati o n s great horned owlGreat horned owls produce classic hooting that even people with very little familiaritywith owls should easily recognize as an owl. Typical territorial hooting, which is the mostcommonly heard vocalization, is a loud, uniform series, typically of five or six hoots, butsometimes only four: Whooo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo with the first three hoots somewhat moreemphatic and the last few more drawn out. This call carries long distances, and can beheard up to a ½ mile or more on a still night. Pairs often duet back and forth, and thesexes can be easily differentiated. Males have a deeper, mellower quality.Also heard on occasion, especially around active nest sites, are a variety of screamssuggestive of hawks, delivered by alarmed adults or begging young. Adults are alsocapable of a broad array of sounds, including dog-like barking calls, soft whistles, andlow laughing sounds. As with all owls, great horneds can produce surprisingly loudclacking sounds by snapping the mandibles of their bills together.I nter e s ting Fac t s great horned owl Great horned owls can take larger prey than most raptors, including skunks,domestic cats, barred owls, and even osprey Of North American owls, only the Arctic-nesting snowy owl is heavier. It wouldtake 135 American goldfinches to equal the weight of an average female greathorned owl. Probably the longest-lived of our owls. One wild individual was documentedthrough banding to have lived to nearly 29 years. Humans intruding on nest sites should take care. Great horned owls are knownto strike people with their talons, and you probably won’t hear them coming.Great horned owl pellets. Thisphoto shows a pellet that hasbeen broken apart to show thefur and bone fragments thatform the bulk of owl pellets.Photo by: © Gary Meszaros
C O M M O N O W L S O F O H I O 29Tips fo r Fi n d i n g aG r e at H o r n ed OwlThe easiest way to locate this species is to venture into open countrysideon clear nights, ideally from November through March, and listen forcalling owls. Their vocalizations carry great distances, and often apair will be heard calling back and forth. Playing tapes to encouragecallbacks often meets with only marginal success, as the owls frequentlyseem to ignore tapes. Studies have shown that only about 1/3rd offemales within the vicinity of taped calls responded, although a higherpercentage of males did call back.Studying large stick nests of raptors and herons in late winter/earlyspring will often reveal the presence of nesting owls. Look carefully fortheir ear tufts protruding above the nest. Another way this species isoften detected is by the unintentional assistance of mobbing Americancrows. When crows locate a roosting owl during the day, they oftengo into a frenzy, and their caws take on an unusually stressed, stridentquality which attracts even more crows.An unusual way that great horned owls are sometimes found isby smell. As they regularly kill skunks, they can also get heavilydosed with the skunk’s pungent discharges. Their nests can becomesaturated with the aroma, too. Smelling the strong odor of skunk fromodd places, such as high in a tree, might lead to an owl.Large cemeteries are excellent places to look for great hornedowls. They can sometimes be found roosting near the tops of largeornamental conifers. Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area and the vicinity ofMagee Marsh Wildlife Area and the marshes of western Lake Erie aregreat places to find this species. Listening for their calls shortly after duskoften produces birds.Finally, canoeing creeks and rivers is almost a surefire way to findgreat horned owls. They often roost in large streamside cottonwoods andsycamores, and will frequently flush in front of the canoe.reat horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owlgreat horned owlRange acrossNorth AmericaBreedingWinteringYear-roundYear-rounddistribution
- Page 1 and 2: OWLS OF OHIO c d g u i d e b o o kD
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- Page 5 and 6: with both eyes simultaneously. Anot
- Page 7 and 8: M o d i fi ed Fe ath er s owl morph
- Page 9 and 10: Pelle t s an d W h ite wa s h findi
- Page 11 and 12: Ab o u t this Bookle t and CD owls
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- Page 15 and 16: y people placing nest boxes in barn
- Page 17 and 18: BTRACKS7-12arred owlStrix varia (St
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- Page 21 and 22: Eastern screech-owlMegascops asio (
- Page 23 and 24: C O M M O N O W L S O F O H I O 23N
- Page 25 and 26: Great horned owlBubo virginianus (B
- Page 27: Normally solitary except during the
- Page 31 and 32: O h i o S tat u s l o ng - e a re d
- Page 33 and 34: N e s ting long - e a re d o w lLon
- Page 35 and 36: Northern saw-whet owlAegolius acadi
- Page 37 and 38: likely. When one is found, a very c
- Page 39 and 40: Short-eared owlAsio flammeus (Ay-se
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- Page 43 and 44: C O M M O N O W L S O F O H I O 43i
- Page 45 and 46: C O M M O N O W L S O F O H I O 45O
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- Page 49 and 50: Like the Northern hawk owl and grea
- Page 51 and 52: This is one of North America’s mo
- Page 53 and 54: This is the smallest owl in the wor
- Page 55 and 56: This small owl has a broad but spot
- Page 57 and 58: This species has become a symbol of
- Page 59 and 60: O T H E R N O R T H A M E R I C A N
- Page 61 and 62: Publication FundingFunding for this
- Page 63 and 64: A ppa l achi a n Fron tAu du bon So
C O M M O N O W L S O F O H I O 29Tips fo r Fi n d i n g aG r e at H o r n ed OwlThe easiest way to locate this species is to venture into open countrysideon clear nights, ideally from November through March, and listen forcalling owls. Their vocalizations carry great distances, and <strong>of</strong>ten apair will be heard calling back and forth. Playing tapes to encouragecallbacks <strong>of</strong>ten meets with only marginal success, as the owls frequentlyseem to ignore tapes. Studies have shown that only about 1/3rd <strong>of</strong>females within the vicinity <strong>of</strong> taped calls responded, although a higherpercentage <strong>of</strong> males did call back.Studying large stick nests <strong>of</strong> raptors and herons in late winter/earlyspring will <strong>of</strong>ten reveal the presence <strong>of</strong> nesting owls. Look carefully fortheir ear tufts protruding above the nest. Another way this species is<strong>of</strong>ten detected is by the unintentional assistance <strong>of</strong> mobbing Americancrows. When crows locate a roosting owl during the day, they <strong>of</strong>tengo into a frenzy, and their caws take on an unusually stressed, stridentquality which attracts even more crows.An unusual way that great horned owls are sometimes found isby smell. As they regularly kill skunks, they can also get heavilydosed with the skunk’s pungent discharges. Their nests can becomesaturated with the aroma, too. Smelling the strong odor <strong>of</strong> skunk fromodd places, such as high in a tree, might lead to an owl.Large cemeteries are excellent places to look for great hornedowls. They can sometimes be found roosting near the tops <strong>of</strong> largeornamental conifers. Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area and the vicinity <strong>of</strong>Magee Marsh Wildlife Area and the marshes <strong>of</strong> western Lake Erie aregreat places to find this species. Listening for their calls shortly after dusk<strong>of</strong>ten produces birds.Finally, canoeing creeks and rivers is almost a surefire way to findgreat horned owls. They <strong>of</strong>ten roost in large streamside cottonwoods andsycamores, and will frequently flush in front <strong>of</strong> the canoe.reat horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owl great horned owlgreat horned owlRange acrossNorth AmericaBreedingWinteringYear-roundYear-rounddistribution
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