This article is from the archives of the UB Reporter.
Electronic Highways

All about owls

Published: March 17, 2010

Related to “Seasonal Bird Life in Western New York,” a previous Electronic Highways column, readers may be interested to know about a diverse and intriguing family of birds that are among us but rarely observed: owls. These birds of prey are unique in many ways: They are mostly nocturnal, they have distinctive calls, they have feather adaptations that facilitate silent flight and they lack the ability to move their eyes, which is why they must turn their entire head to see in different directions. These are among the many characteristics that contribute to owl lore worldwide.

March is a particularly good month to listen and look for members of the Strigidae family in Western New York; resident species are nesting and migratory species are preparing for the journey north to their breeding grounds. During the 2010 annual Buffalo Ornithological Society’s owl trip, well-bundled birders found representatives of two resident species—eastern screech owl and great horned owl—and one uncommon winter visitor from the high arctic—a snowy owl.

Albeit, owl species are mostly active at night, there are daytime opportunities to observe them. Eastern screech owls can be found roosting in tree cavities and old woodpecker holes. Great horned owls rest in sheltered tree braches and cliff ledges, and can sometimes be found inhabiting abandoned red-tailed hawk nests. Long-eared owls and northern saw-whet owls are challenging to find during the day; they prefer roosting in dense trees and brush. The best approach to finding them is to search lower branches for their distinctive excretions, known as “whitewash,” and also to look for nearby “pellets,” which are small, oval regurgitations of the undigested parts of their prey (consisting mainly of hair and tiny bones). Still, not all owls sleep the day away. Short-eared owls, which are endangered in New York State, are crepuscular and barred owls are commonly active during the day.

As with the aforementioned snowy owl, Western New York is sometimes visited by uncommon species from boreal, sub-arctic and arctic Canada. This is generally due to declines in the populations of their prey animals. Such rare visitors include boreal owl, great gray owl and northern hawk owl, and their appearances usually result in flocking behavior among area birders. Indeed, the 2006 appearance of a northern hawk owl in the Orleans County town of Yates was a sensation; it was the first confirmed observation of this species in the Buffalo Ornithological Society’s archives since 1963.

As one might expect, remote locations are best for finding owls. Each species has its preferences in terms of habitat. While eastern screech and great horned owls can be found in open woods and forest edges, barred owls prefer hardwood swamps and short-eared owls habit grassy, weedy fields. The Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, which is a 30-minute drive form the UB North Campus, contains all of these habitats and is one of the best regional locations to look for owls. Refuge naturalists partner with the Buffalo Audubon Society to host owl prowls each spring and fall; these programs are free and open to the public.

Christopher Hollister, University Libraries