April 01, 2013

On Saturday (March 30th), some friends and I once again went north to Quebec to look for great gray owls – and other species of owls – which have moved south this winter from the boreal forest of Canada. As I've written in previous blogs, there have been an impressive number of owls in the region. We were happily successful in our endeavor, but the real surprise came when we received a phone call that a great gray owl had been found in the Adirondacks just outside Tupper Lake late that afternoon! My friend who received the call while we were in Quebec didn't even know I had just found a great gray in Canada (we were split up as we were searching) – he was thinking, "we drove all this way to not see one and there's one back home!" He was very relieved when I told him I had found a great gray!

First thing Easter morning a few of us were in Tupper Lake and we found the owl quickly. The owl was hunting along the grass strip along Routes 3 and 30 east of Tupper Lake toward Saranac Lake. The bird was generally staying on the north side of the road between the sign for Kentile Excavating and a wetland at the bottom of a small hill along Routes 3 and 30. The Raquette River comes up next to the road at this point as well.

It was a beautiful Easter morning with sun and a growing veil of clouds, and the light was great for photography. I happily snapped photo after photo of the owl, and our small contingent of owl watchers began to grow. We were calling anyone we knew who would be interested. People were posting on-line and on Facebook, and word started to spread. We parked off the road on both ends of the strip with our hazards blinking to help slow traffic, and soon more people began to stop, attracted by the activity. Many people assumed we had found a moose – but what we had found was much rarer than a moose!

wild Center folks - GGOW
The owl attracted many people during the day including a contingent from The Wild Center.

I stood there for hours clicking photographs and explaining to one passing motorist after another just what it was that we were doing. Face after face lit up when they saw the owl. Great grays are, after all, our largest owl (in dimensions, but not in weight, their feathers are so thick and fluffy), and they are impressive to witness. Men in suits and women in high heels and their Easter Sunday best stopped to watch it, take photos, and look through our binoculars and scopes. The owl had taken everyone out of their plans that day to witness something beyond themselves and their agenda.

The constant flux of cars along the road helped to slow traffic – which was good for our safety, as well as that of the owl. Owls are often hit along roads while hunting, and a small strip of grass along a 55 mph road is not the safest place to look for voles.

All the activity did not seem to bother the owl at all – but if it did, I was happy for it to move to a safer place to hunt. Great grays are remarkably approachable, and tolerant of people. They are also active for part of the daylight hours making them fun to observe. They will also rest for part of the day, sitting half awake. The owl drifted from perch to perch on giant, silent wings, and then would sit for a while (sometimes for 30 minutes or more) before floating to its next perch. It dropped to the ground a few times for rodents, but we never saw it catch one.

great gray owl Tupper Lake
The great gray owl flew from perch to perch, dropping to the ground a few times while hunting for rodents.

Eventually it began to stay more stationary, half dosing in the trees, and my stomach beckoned me to find lunch. I returned to find part of our crew remaining, and the owl gone back into the woods. It had just flown there and two folks I know from New Jersey had just been lucky enough to see it before it left. We waited and walked the road, but didn't find it again. It could have moved to the grassy areas on the wetland which borders the backside of the woods, but we didn't have time to search the entire area. After waiting and looking a bit more, we moved on.

At this writing (Monday morning, 4/1), that was the last time the owl was seen (around 2:45pm on Easter). I've chatted with a few local birders this morning, as well as birders from New York City and Buffalo who were out searching for it in the rain, but to no avail. It is still likely in the area somewhere – it's just a question of finding it. It also could have started moving back north as all of the great grays will be doing in the near future. If you do go looking for it, be careful of traffic along the road. Many drivers slowed down for us, but others were far less courteous. But the owl is worth hunting for – watching the enormous feathered B-52 float through the air is amazing. And for my money that is a whole lot cooler than the Easter Bunny, no matter how much candy he brings.

**UPDATE** The great grey owl was sighted again outside of Tupper Lake on Tuesday morning, April 2nd near the Raquette River.

wild Center folks - GGOW
The owl attracted many people during the day including a contingent from The Wild Center.
great gray owl Tupper Lake
The great gray owl flew from perch to perch, dropping to the ground a few times while hunting for rodents.

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