Great Gray Owl 001

North Shore visitors are seeing a lot of great gray owls. Most have been spotted around Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse State Parks.

GreatGrayOwl

Great Gray Owl 002

The reason may be the warm weather from a couple of weeks ago caused a crust on the top of the snow. The owls have a difficult time breaking through the crust to reach their prey. Owls are usually nocturnal, feeding at night, but when they don’t get enough to eat they will feed during daylight hours.

GreatGrayOwl002

Great Gray Owl 003

Karla and I came home from Two Harbors and saw three. One was pretty cooperative and allowed me to get some photos while it was hunting.

GreatGrayOwl003

Great Gray Owl 004

If you look closely at the wings you will see that the edges are very soft which allows the owls to fly silently.

GreatGrayOwl007

Great Gray Owl 005

This one flew by without making a sound.

GreatGrayOwl008

Great Gray Owl 006

Their facial feathers act like a satellite disc channeling sound back to their ears. Their hearing is so acute that a great gray owl can hear a mouse running under a foot and a half of snow half a football field away. They are amazing creatures.

GreatGrayOwl004

Great Gray Owl 007

They have beautiful yellow eyes and a white mustache.

GreatGrayOwl005

Great Gray Owl 008

Another interesting fact is that owls have three eyelids. The upper one is for blinking, the lower one is for sleeping and the third eyelid closes from the inside out. It is called a nictitating membrane. It protects the surface of the eye and keeps it clean. I caught this one when its third eyelids were half closed.

GreatGrayOwl006