A Snowy Winter

Female Snowy Owl

One of the many perks to surviving the cold Canadian winters in the Ottawa area are the owls that come down from the north in search of food. When their food is in shortage or there isn't enough space for owls making territories up north many (mostly juveniles) move south in search of 'greener pastures'.

Female Snowy Owl

Really what they find are snow covered farm fields along the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers down to the Kingston area.  Last year Ottawa saw a lot of boreal species of owls including great gray, hawk owl and boreal owls. This year over 42 snowy owls have been seen in the Ottawa area. These owls are one of the heaviest owls in North America.

Juvenile Male Snowy Owl

Birding for these diurnal (daytime) owls is one of the easiest ways to look for birds. Drive down country back roads keeping an eye for a large white bird on a telephone pole or in the middle of a field. Even on cold cloudy days you can see them along roadsides and in farmers fields from the warmth of a car. I was lucky enough to see 4 of them in one morning/afternoon, but other days I was not so lucky.

The big bright yellow eyes are characteristic of diurnal (daytime) owls. Females are larger and more patterned than males which can appear completely white as adults.These birds will soon be returning north to create breeding territories and make their nests (which they create on the ground) in early spring.  I am always very excited to see when these spectacular birds will return to Ottawa next.

Juvenile Male Snowy Owl

The Three Owls in Two Days

In search for the elusive Hawk Owl, I ventured to Richmond (South of Ottawa) on March 2nd. Upon reaching the trail an owl took flight not nearly 5 meters in front of me. The size and colour distinctly not of a Hawk Owl which we searched for. The large body size and mottled colouration was that of a Great Grey Owl.

Great Grey Owl

A second search for the Hawk Owl brought Chris and I to a park on Eagleson Road and Robertson Road. This owl had been consistently seen here for the past few weeks. Our first search for it was unsuccessful and the wind was chilling.

Northern Hawk Owl

We headed back to the car to warm up for a moment and then returned to the clearing. Mid-way up a bar tree we saw it. On our approach it flew to a tree that was even more open and with much better lighting for pictures.

Northern Hawk Owl

Northern Hawk Owl

 After our success with the Hawk Owl we headed to the Ottawa Experimental Farm to find the recently sighted Boreal Owl. This was a very easy find since it was quite close to the parking lot and there was a lot of birder traffic at the time to point us in the right direction.

Boreal Owl

 The owl was sitting about 6ft high in a thick spruce tree close to the trunk. The wind blowing hard even dropped snow on its head.

Boreal Owl

The bird was not very concerned with our presence and seamed to get even more comfortable while we were sitting there.

Boreal Owl