Gray Ghost
I have talked before on how the Great Grey Owl is also commonly referred to as the Phantom of The North as this owl has a great ability to blend into the forest. Some also refer to the name as how incredibly rare they are to see. Yet I seem to see one almost every time I head out to my lake lot. Another name for the Great Grey Owl is The Spectral Owl. This is a nickname that refers to the owl’s mysterious nature.
Title: Take Flight
Taken: January 12, 2025
Why Are They Mysterious?
Hard To Find
Great Grey Owl’s are elusive and don’t tend to draw attention to themselves. They are often silent, move quietly, and blend into their surroundings.
Little Infromation
There isn’t much information about their numbers in the wild, so they are considered “data deficient” by the federal Government.
Scientific Name
The genus name strix comes from ancient folklore about magical birds associated with witches. The species name nebulosa is Latin for “misty, foggy, or obscure.”
Title: Stock Still
Taken: January 12, 2025
What Can You Do To See One?
Look for them during an irruptive year when they travel south in search of food.
Join a local birding group to learn when they have been sighted nearby.
Use the eBird species maps tool to find areas where they have been reported.
Look for dark figures in trees, especially dead trees.
Look for them before dawn or dusk when they are hunting.
In the areas where they have been spotted, slowly walk the perimeter of a meadow or other opening looking for dark figures in the trees. Pay attention to dead trees and don’t forget to look at tall levels in the trees as they can sometimes perch very low. To catch them hunting, make sure to get out in the right habitat before dawn or dusk. These owls are highly sought-after by birders and photographers who want to see these birds, and are sensitive to disturbance, don’t use call playbacks to find them.
Title: Flying Low
Cool Facts About Great Greys
Title: Eye On The Target
Taken: Summer of 2024
Although the Great Grey Owl is one of the tallest owls in the U.S. it’s just a ball of feathers. Both they Great Horned Owl and Snowy Owl weigh more than a Great Grey Owl and they have larger feet and talons.
Great Grey Owls aren’t just North American Owls. They also live in Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, and Mongolia.
Great Grey Owls are powerful birds. Despite weighing only 2.5 pounds, they can breath through hard packed snow to grab a small mammal. One bird reportedly broke through snow that was hard enough to support a 176 pound human.
Great Grey Owls are big owls, which means that they need to eat regularly. In the winter, they eat up to 7 vole-sized small mammals every day.
Imagine what it would be like if you could hear even the slightest noise and knew exactly where the noise was coming from. Well, that is exactly what the Great Grey Owl can do. Like the Barn Owl and Long-eared Owl they have asymmetrical ear openings that help them find prey by sound alone. The left ear opening is higher on the head than the right ear opening which enables precise directional hearing and lets them nab invisible prey. (I got to see this in action on January 12, 2025 which I will tell you the story of.)
The oldest recorded Great Grey Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old, and it lived in Alberta, Canada, where it was banded in 1996 and found in 2013, after being hit by a car.
Title: Shake Off The Cold
Taken: January 12, 2025
My Story
So I mentioned on how the owl can determine the precise location of the sound of its prey. You visually can not see the ears on the own due to its layers of feathers but as I was observing this beauty, I can see its feathers perk up a little. It was not due to any wind that was blowing through, not strong enough to rustle the feathers like how I witnessed. As I was observing this beautiful creature in its habitat, hunting for its food, the head would constantly be turning. Keeping its eye on me occasionally as it continued to locate its soon to be dinner, as it turned to its right, the feathers perked upwards and twitched. I can only assume that is where one of its ears were located. Shortly after witnessing the twitch of the feathers, the owl took flight and glided a little ways down on top of a taller post. It was on the out skirts of a farmers field and as it landed, the yellow sharpened eyes were honed in to just below the post. The owl has located where it’s dinner was hiding and was waiting for its precise moment to snatch it up. I never got to see the end result of it capturing its food but it was still a magical moment to witness. Now I know that it won’t be the last time I see one of these beautiful birds and I hope to witness more of them alongside other species of owls. I know of one photographer who captures astonishing shots of wildlife and Great Grey Owls and I highly recommend you check him out. His name is Isaac Spotts and located in Wyoming and he has a great story of not just capturing a beautiful moment of a Great Grey Owl but also a very rare looking one. He captured a leucistic Great Grey Owl. This is where the Great Grey Owl is not brown or grey like it’s usual colours. No, leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin.
Without further waiting, I give to you the moment when I witnessed the owl I spotted on January 12, 2025 outside of Fork Lake, Alberta, when its feathers twitched. Please enjoy and please do go check out Isaac Spotts.
Tschüss!
Title: Dinner Spotted
Taken: January 12, 2025